


Dollhouse

by asdflove



Series: Dolls [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Also a Nacre who runs the reef and she sucks, Autistic Pearl (Steven Universe), F/F, Laden with flashbacks because it's all Pearl's POV, Pearl Solidarity (Steven Universe), Pearl was White Diamond's pearl before she was Pink's, Rose was abusive, a lot of pearl OCs, and I write pearl as autistic so, it's about pearls, just that's the focus of the entire story, oh dang there was already a tag for that, she and Volleyball basically traded places, so let that be known, where they get captured and carted off to Homeworld when Steven is just four
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23992645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asdflove/pseuds/asdflove
Summary: It kills her, to act this subservient. And to Nacre of all people. But this is what a proper obedient pearl would do, and leaning into that is her only chance to survive.----When Steven is just four years old, the Crystal Gems are captured and taken to Homeworld, and big secrets come out quickly in a desperate attempt to save their lives, and it works. Steven is the New Pink Diamond... and Pearl his loyal servant.They're alive, but a long way away from being safe and happy again.
Relationships: Blue Diamond's Pearl & Pearl (Steven Universe), Blue Diamond's Pearl/Pearl (Steven Universe), Original Gem Character(s) & Original Gem Character(s) (Steven Universe), Pearl/Pink Diamond (Steven Universe), Pearl/Pink Diamond's Pearl (Steven Universe), Volleyball x Pearl (Steven Universe) - Relationship, Volleyball/Pearl (Steven Universe) - Relationship
Series: Dolls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821400
Comments: 39
Kudos: 167





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This has been my pet project since like 2014 and with the show's end I FINALLY felt motivation to actually write it. So, six years in the works, have my pearl-centric homeworld uprising fanfic! Hope you enjoy it! <3

Pearl could have never anticipated this, trapped here on this ship behind a destabilization field. It was so  _ quickly _ that their world crumbled around them that she was at a loss. It was without much warning.

She can hear Steven crying out of sight. She wants to go to him  _ so badly _ . He’s just four, he doesn’t know what’s going on. He can’t  _ possibly _ know what’s going on.

They were supposed to protect him.  _ She _ was supposed to protect him. And she  _ failed _ . And he’s probably going to die. They  _ all _ are probably going to die. Unless-

Her hands fly to cover her mouth at the thought. Unless she can somehow communicate that Steven  _ is _ Pink Diamond. That would spare his life, and  _ maybe _ hers if she played her cards right.

It would mean being a servant again. Being Steven’s  _ property _ ... But if it could save Steven’s life. If it could give her even the  _ slimmest _ of chances of getting Steven back home to Earth safely... 

_ How _ can she do that though? She can’t outright say it. Could she bait them into actually checking his gem? Could she get  _ him _ to somehow release the order? She doesn’t even know if he  _ can _ do that…

She has to find some way around it though. It’s the only way.

“Steven?” She says, loudly as she dares, hoping he can hear her over his tears. “Steven, I know you’re scared, I am too, but I need you to listen to me.”

“What are you doing, Pearl?” Amethyst mumbles from the cell next to her.

“... Not sure yet. Just trying something.” She presses her hand flat against the wall between her and Amethyst, splaying her fingers out across the cool metal. This is the only chance for Garnet and Amethyst too.

“Steven?” His crying hasn’t changed at all, and she winces. She loves him more than anything in the universe, but Greg is the one who’s actually taken care of him up to now. She has  _ no idea _ how to handle him crying like this. But she  _ has _ to get through to him. “Steven,  _ please _ ?”

His crying abates some, though doesn’t completely stop. But he’s  _ listening _ . At least she  _ hopes  _ he is.

“There are… certain things that I  _ can’t say _ . Things that are really,  _ really  _ important, especially to the people who… picked us up.”

“P?” Amethyst shifts in the cell next to her. “What are you talking about?”

Pearl just glances at the wall that she  _ knows _ Amethyst is on the other side of, and sighs, before focusing her attention back on Steven.

“Your Mother… she didn’t want me to say... certain things. Steven, they’re going to ask you who she was. You have to tell them you don’t know, and tell them that I  _ do _ , alright? That’s the only way they’ll listen to me.”

“O-Okay.” Steven stammers out through quiet sobs, and Pearl lets out a sigh of relief. He  _ was  _ listening. That should do it. They should give enough pause at  _ that _ to get to the truth.

Amethyst scoffs. “Do you really think lying is gonna save him, P?”

“It wouldn’t be lying.”


	2. Chapter 1: Just Play the Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's difficult, to pretend to be nothing more than a pretty little servant again, but Pearl is trying her best, as it's her best chance to survive.

She should have anticipated being taken to the Reef. She’s just sitting there, her back against the wall and trying to be invisible. She’s been here a few hours, since she was dropped off by their captor. All she can do is wait now, and hope that this  _ works _ . 

“Get up.” The voice, so  _ similar _ to her own, but just  _ barely  _ different is like ice water dumped over her head, and she obeys at once, lurching to her feet and keeping her head bowed.

_ Nacre _ . Mother of Pearl, as that Stone is rather appropriately called on Earth. Not that she’s  _ happy _ to reunite with her so-called mother. Nacre is someone Pearl had hoped she would never see again in her life. 

She doesn’t have to look to remember her, standing a few inches taller, with long multi-coloured hair swept into a bun, and a diaphanous cloak over a dress, with a diamond cut out around her gem at her stomach.

She could never forget Nacre, and how miserable it was being  _ trained _ by her for Pink.

It  _ kills _ her, to act this subservient. And to  _ Nacre _ of all people. But this is what a  _ proper obedient pearl _ would do, and leaning into that is her only chance to  _ survive _ .

“Who’s your owner?”

“… don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me, Nacre…” She says softly, keeping her gaze downcast. She literally  _ can’t _ answer that question.

“Of course not, dear.” Her tone is soft,  _ caring _ , but it sets Pearl on edge. She knows not to trust that.

“I remember  _ all  _ of my Pearls,” She reaches forward, gently cupping her cheek, then she nudges Pearl’s head up to be looking at her. “You were always particularly pretty. I was so proud of how you turned out, which made it  _ such a shame _ when you opened those blue eyes of yours.  _ Off-color _ .” She shakes her head, tutting quietly. “To say nothing of your  _ behavioral _ issues. A defect for a Diamond.  _ Such _ a shame. I would have spared you all that and remade you, but it would have been my gem on the line if I delivered  _ late _ to White Diamond.”

Ah, there’s a confirmation of something she always suspected. She doesn’t really remember her time with White Diamond, having been reset and  _ recustomized _ for Pink, but she always assumed it had to be to Nacre’s benefit to not just harvest her the moment she came out  _ wrong _ ...

“You belonged to Pink Diamond.” She says cooly after a moment, the motherly tone dropped as she takes a step back away, and Pearl ducks her head immediately again. “Disappeared when she was shattered. And now you’re claiming there are things you  _ can’t _ say.”

Ah. Good job Steven, telling them more than she even asked him too. That’s actually really quite helpful. “... Has his  _ gem _ been checked yet?”

“Not  _ only _ are you claiming that there’s things you  _ can’t say _ , but that you know more about that  _ thing’s _ gem than it does. So I ask you again,  _ who is your owner _ .”

Pearl lifts her head, locking her eyes with Nacre’s- hers almost the same shade of aqua blue as Pearl’s own- as her hands act of their own accord, jumping to cover her mouth, and Nacre sighs. 

“ _ Great _ . You  _ are _ under an order. Easiest way to get rid of that would be another reset, but I’m under strict orders to  _ not _ rejuvenate you. Because  _ you _ are suspect number one for being the  _ renegade pearl _ during that silly war, and Blue Diamond wants  _ words _ with you. Seems to think you’d have to be involved in the shattering of Pink.”

“Please tell them to check Steven’s gem.  _ Please _ , Nacre. It’s very important.”

“… you aren’t implying what I  _ think _ you are, about that  _ thing _ , are you?”

“His name is Steven. He’s a half human, half gem hybrid. Not a  _ thing _ .”

“Fine then, what is his  _ Gem _ half?”

“ _ Well _ ,” Pearl takes a deep breath, crossing her arms behind her back, and keeping her gaze locked with Nacre’s. “His mother  _ went by _ Rose Quartz.”

Her eyes narrow, and she takes a half step towards Pearl. “And  _ what _ gem did his mother who  _ went by _ Rose Quartz have.”

Pearl doesn’t say a word, her hands just covering her mouth again, and Nacre sighs, stepping backward. “Diamonds help us,  _ all along _ she was still  _ alive _ ?  _ Why _ ? Why would she fight a war against  _ herself _ ?”

“… Rose never wanted to fight. She just didn’t want to see the Earth destroyed. Blue and Yellow Diamond wouldn’t listen to her. She thought it was her only option.”

“… And let me guess, you were just  _ doing what you were told _ ? Like a good little defect?”

“… I would have done anything for Rose.”

“Well, I suppose you’re nothing if not  _ loyal _ . That’s why, despite your defects, I never thought I’d have to worry about you getting in trouble with Pink.” She sighs, a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “I should have known better though. Not matter how hard you try, you can never do anything right. Because you’re  _ defective _ .” She brushes her other hand over Pearl’s gem, before briefly stroking Pearl’s hair. “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who made you wrong. Now we can only work with what we’ve got.”

Pearl doesn’t move  _ at all _ , until Nacre steps back away, at which point she relaxes just a touch. She hadn’t felt so  _ powerless  _ since… since the last time she was in the Reef, faced with Nacre. She wishes she could impale Nacre on her spear… but that would be gambling with Steven’s life, so she has to grit her teeth and play along.

Indefinitely. Until she finds a way to get back to Earth. This… is going to be unpleasant.

“Don’t move, I have to report this up.” Nacre walks away, and Pearl leans back against the wall and slides down to the floor, staring up at the ceiling unfocused.

She could escape right now. The only people here are a few other pearls. She could just  _ bolt _ , hide in the kindergartens of Homeworld. Evading capture would be infinitely less painful than making herself  _ property _ again…

But  _ Steven _ . She  _ has _ to protect Steven. She’s not going to fail Rose like that. 

She can do this.  _ Just play the part Pearl _ . Someone needs to look out for Steven, and she doubts Garnet or Amethyst are going to get the chance.

Even if her and Steven get out of this alive, Garnet and Amethyst… aren’t likely to be so  _ lucky _ . Can… Can she save  _ them _ ? Oh, that… will be tricky. If she can find out where they’re at, and she acts quickly and  _ carefully _ … then  _ maybe _ . Maybe she can. 

She has to at least  _ try _ . She can’t just stand by and let her only friends in the universe meet some grim fate without even attempting to save them…

“Pink Diamond’s Pearl, please stand up.”

Ah, right.  _ Shell _ . She’s not alone, even with Nacre gone. 

“Please stand up.” Shell repeats, as a path lights up along the floor, and Pearl sighs, standing up, and following the path lit up before Shell can tell her too.

And it takes her to the Warp Pad, the lit path stopping just before it.

“Wait here, you will be picked up shortly.”

_ Right _ . Wherever she’s supposed to be going, she’s not technically  _ allowed _ to warp by herself, so she can’t just be told where to go. At least she’s going  _ somewhere _ . Staying here is…  _ uncomfortable _ , to say the least.

It’s a moment later that a Blue Jasper warps in and, and growls at her to get on the pad, which she quickly does, keeping her head ducked, and her arms crossed behind her back.

Nacre is one thing. Nacre is well familiar with her  _ defective _ behavior. But  _ now _ , she has to be on her best behavior to survive this. 

_ Yes, Blue Diamond, your brilliance _ .  _ Anything you say, your brilliance. I apologize…  _

She’s out of practice… not that she hadn’t always mentally rehearsed things like this. But it feels even more necessary  _ now _ . And like it’s not enough. She has to hold on to her own elbows tightly behind her back to stop from fidgeting as she walks in silence behind the Quartz to Blue Diamond’s quarters.

“You’ll be called in.” The Jasper says, before leaving her there outside Blue Diamond’s door.

Pearl listens to her footsteps fade away back the way they came, and once she’s sure she’s gone, she dares life her head, and gasps softly as she sees another pearl.

_ Sketch _ . 

The nickname comes to mind unbidden, seeing the other pearl for the first time in thousands of years. They… they were friends, before, and all of her thinly constructed plans leave her head as all her focus has to go toward trying not to cry, and she takes a shaky breath, rubbing at her eyes.

“… Welcome back.” She says softly after a long moment. “I’m glad to know you’re okay.”

It’s harder to stop from crying with her saying  _ that _ , and she muffles a quiet sob into her other hand, and it takes a moment to pull herself together, but once she does, she weaves her fingers together at her waist and smiles faintly at her.

“We’ll see, about okay. That depends on how this goes…” She sighs slightly. “I’m glad to see you either way. I missed you.”

She nods slightly, but doesn’t say anything else, just standing quietly with a small smile on her face.

It’s an agonizing few minutes, with Pearl desperately running the scripts for interacting with a Diamond in her head, hoping she doesn’t make a mistake that gets her and Steven killed, before the door opens, and she’s called to come inside.

“ _ Good luck _ .” Sketch whispers, briefly touching Pearl’s hand as she goes in, sending a rush of warmth through her. A warmth that almost immediately vanishes as the heavy doors close behind her, and the room feels heavy and cold as Blue Diamond stares down at her.

She barely has time to process the feeling though, before Steven’s arms are wrapping around her legs and he’s absolutely  _ bawling _ .

Blue Diamond completely forgotten, she crouches to get down on his level, hugging him and running her fingers through his dark curls. She’s the only familiar face here. Of course he’s going to cling to her this way.

Oh dear. She wishes she was more involved. She loves him. More than anything. But he’s  _ Greg’s _ son. And she’s never felt comfortable around Greg, so she knows next to nothing about actually taking care of him… 

If she had been more involved, she might better know what to do  _ now _ . 

“Pearl, I- I said I didn’t know a-about my m-mom! L-Like you asked!” He holds onto her even tighter, practically climbing into her arms, and she gets a good grip to pick him up and hesitantly stand back up, holding him. “Is-Is everything- everything gonna b-be okay.”

“I know you did, Steven. Thank you for that.” She holds him carefully, gently stroking his hair with one hand. “And-” Her eyes flick up to Blue Diamond, whose gaze is still intensely focused on her, then back down to Steven. “O-Of course everything is going to be just fine. Your Mom trusted me to keep you safe after all. I wouldn’t dare let anything hurt you.”

She takes a deep breath, and hesitantly takes a few steps forward, curtsying as well as she can while holding onto Steven, keeping her head down out of feigned respect.

She doesn’t have  _ any _ respect for Blue Diamond. But she can fake it.

“Blue Diamond, your Brilliance.” She says, keeping her tone calm and even despite the crying child in her arms and her own  _ terror _ . “It is an honor to be in your presence again after so long.” 

She hadn’t imagined holding Steven as he cries while saying that, but so far it’s… going alright. She got through the first line without breaking her composure… 

“I had the gem of that  _ thing _ scanned.” Blue says coldly. “I expect you to explain  _ how _ that is Pink Diamond, and what  _ happened _ all those years ago.”

She has to hold very tight to Steven to not have her hands fly over her mouth, and she still can’t open her mouth, whimpering slightly.

My apologies, Your Brilliance,” She says faintly after a moment. “But, surely Nacre told you-”

Blue Diamond huffs, raising a hand to cut her off. “Pink, rescind this nonsense order. If  _ you _ can’t tell me, your pearl needs to.”

Steven doesn’t react at all. Of course he doesn’t. He doesn’t know that she’s talking to  _ him _ .

“Sincerest Apologies again, Blue Diamond, but you must understand that he doesn’t have any of her memories. His mother had chosen to have a child with a human, and give up her own life in the process, so said child could have her gem. His name is  _ Steven _ , and he’s very young. Just four Earth years old.”

“ _ Why _ ? Why would Pink give her own life like that?”

“… I don’t pretend to understand her motives, your Brilliance. I just did as I was told.”

“W-What are you guys talking ‘bout?” Steven sniffles, craning his neck to look up at Blue Diamond while holding on tighter to Pearl.

Pearl focuses her attention back on Steven, forcing a smile. “Oh, nothing you need to worry about yet. Oh,” She gently cups his cheek. “You must be exhausted, It’s been nearly a full day since you’ve slept.” 

Steven nods slightly, leaning into her shoulder, and closing his eyes. “I’m scared though…”

“… I know. I know you are, but I’ll keep you safe, alright?”

He nods slightly, not lifting his head again, and holding onto her as tightly as he can.

Her gaze trails back up to Blue Diamond, and she sighs softly. “I understand you must be grieving. I truly wish I could give you the answers you desire, Your Brilliance. But he’s not old enough to understand the concept of Orders, so he wouldn’t really be able to rescind one for at least a few years more. At four he’s barely more than a baby.”

Blue Diamond narrows her eyes, staring at him sleeping in her arms. “Does he have all human needs?”

“As far as I am aware, yes.”

“And Pink left him in your care for the human growing period?”

“Yes.” She says immediately, lying through her teeth. He was to be in their care  _ eventually _ , but not for years yet. But Blue Diamond doesn’t need to know that.

“… What  _ can _ you tell me?”

“… His mother went by Rose Quartz. All she wanted was to spare the earth. And she felt like you and Yellow Diamond wouldn’t listen to her.”

“So she starts a  _ war _ ? And fakes her own shattering?”

“… She hoped it would frighten you into giving up the Earth.” Pearl says faintly. “It… technically worked.”

“… We killed every gem left on that planet. How did you even survive?”

Pearl can’t help her gaze from snapping up to Blue Diamond at that, her eyes narrowed, but she quickly tamps down the anger, ducking her head again.

_ Killing _ them would have been merciful, compared to corruption. But that’s not something she should say to Blue Diamond.

“We were behind her shield, your Brilliance.” She still has to bite her tongue to keep from snipping about the corruption. There’s no point to it.

“… so, what you’re telling me is that all Pink Diamond wanted was to spare that one planet? That she was never shattered and now is this… Steven?”

“Rose truly loved the Earth. It’s my best guess that she chose to give her gem to Steven because she wanted to truly be a part of it, but I do not pretend to fathom her thought process.”

“And you were always doing what she wanted you to?”

“Always.”

That is true. It just happens that she wanted it even more than Rose ever could have, and it kills her to be standing here acting like a  _ good little servant  _ again.

“That will be considered, as well as this new Pink’s…  _ attachment _ to you.”

Pearl’s grip tightens on Steven, but it’s useless against Blue Diamond pulling him out of her arms. She just hears him starting to cry again as he wakes up before she’s poofed in a single move from Blue Diamond.


	3. Chapter 2: Conform

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl reforms in Pink Diamond's old room at the palace, immediately reunited with Steven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mention it in the tags already, but trigger warning for implied abuse.  
> Also I guess from Nacre too. Cause she sucks.

She came back as quickly as she could. It might not look good for her, but Pearl desperately needed to get back. For Steven.

He must be so scared. It’s the only thing she can think of. Getting back to him to make sure he feels just a little safer.

She was in a bubble though, delaying her return, so she still had time to put some thought into her new form.

_ Conform _ , Pearl. This is how she survives. Even as it kills her to put that Pink Diamond back after all these millennia… 

She can’t quite make herself let go though, placing that diamond over the bottom point of an upside/down star-shaped cut out at her collar. She also has pink leggings with aqua blue shoes the same color as her shirt. And very,  _ very _ reluctantly she puts a loose diaphanous shirt over it, sitting across her shoulders, trimmed in yellow like her previous skirt was.

She honestly hates the translucent material like this. She only ever kept it before because Rose liked it. And now she needs it to  _ conform _ . So… It’ll do.

The moment she’s free from the bubble she stops fiddling with her look and forms, landing and looking wildly around… Pink’s old room at the palace. Steven is hugging her in an instant, but her eyes lock on… another Pearl in stark whites and one eye scarred over. She’s balanced on tip toes and something about her smile unnerves Pearl.

She never did meet her replacement with White, and it’s only for having picked up Steven on instinct that her hand isn’t over her own eye, mirroring the apparent injury.

What did White  _ do _ to her? Her gaze trails down to her gem on her… stomach and for a second it’s like time stops, and she can’t help the slight gasp that escapes her.

Was… was this Pink’s pearl that she replaced? Did they switch places?

She might not remember White Diamond much, but there are a few memories that have come back to her, despite the reset. And based on those… she wouldn’t wish being White’s Pearl on  _ anyone _ … 

“Well,” The voice coming out of her is NOT that of a pearl, and she has to fight every instinct to recoil, and her grip on Steven does tighten. “It seems you corrected your form to be up to standards on your own, so we don’t need to be taking you back to Nacre. Both of you stay here until further notice.”

She spins around, not… actually moving her limbs at all and glides out, and Pearl can’t help but shudder.

That… was _White_ _Diamond’s_ voice. She’s sure of it, and she’s intensely unnerved by it.

After a moment she focuses on Steven in her arms, and falls to her knees, hugging him very close. They’re finally alone. Alone and  _ safe _ as they can be, while still here on Homeworld.

“Steven, Steven, hey,” She runs her fingers through his hair, trying to keep her own voice calm as to reassure him. “It’s alright, we’re safe.”

“I-I-I thought- I though you-you w-were gone-”

_ Ah _ . He’d never seen poofing before. That must have been so frightening for him. “I’m sorry- I’m sorry, Steven. But I’m fine. I’m fine. Promise.”

Steven pulls back to look at her, though he stays in her lap, blinking at her through his tears. “Pearl, I’m so confused. Where  _ are _ we? Where’s Dad? And Garnet and Amethyst? Why do they keep calling me  _ pink _ ?”

“… Gems… Gems aren’t from the Earth, Steven. We’re from out in space, and… that’s where we are right now. This is my, and Garnet, and your Mom’s home planet.”

“Not Amethyst?”

“Oh,” A ghost of a smile flickers across her face. “No, Amethyst is an Earthling.”

“Like me!”

“Yes,” She laughs faintly, tapping his nose. “Like you. The people calling you Pink are your mother’s family, and they don’t quite understand that you  _ aren’t her _ yet. ”

“I thought you and Garnet and Amethyst were Mom’s family?”

“… No, I mean we  _ are _ , but Blue and the other Diamonds are like… her older sisters.”

“Oh! So this is just like, a family visit? Neat! Why are they so mean though?”

“… The last time your Mother saw them, they had… a big fight. They’re still a little upset, but it’s going to be alright.”

“So like, what is this room, if we’re supposed like,  _ stay here _ or whatever she said.” Steven giggles. “She looked a lot like you? Are you guys related?”

“Uh. N-No. She  _ is _ another pearl though, that’s why we look similar.”

“Woah so other Amethysts would look like Amethyst, and other Garnet’s like Garnet?”

Pearl laughs nervously, looking away from him. Does she tell him Garnet is a fusion? He doesn’t even know what fusion  _ is _ yet… Ah…

“Well, yes and no. Any Amethysts you might meet will probably be taller, our Garnet is special.”

“Well you’re special too! You’re more colorful than she was!”

Oh, oh  _ Steven _ . She’s not  _ supposed _ to be. When she was made she should have been in perfect greyscales like that, but she wasn’t. Her eyes were this shade of blue all along, and it’s always been a color she’s drawn towards, even when transferring courts and having pink forcibly added to her color palette. And yellow along with it, as Nacre decided it was the  _ best _ solution to her off-color nature, to mark her with colors of every court.

She’s not really complaining, as it left her with a lot of freedom to design her own form in whatever colors she wanted, where otherwise she might have been restricted.

But  _ still _ . It’s not  _ special _ . It’s a sign of her being  _ defective _ .

“As for where we are…” Pearl puts on a smile and gets to her feet, picking him up and spinning him around. “This is your Mom’s old room, before we were on Earth! We used to spend lots and lots of time here! Ah, you’re going to love this-” She goes over to one of the walls, and knocks softly on it. “You guys can come out.”

A spot in the wall opens up, and one of the pebbles peeks out, and gasps excitedly seeing her and Steven, and they start chattering once she confirms that  _ yes _ this is Pink Diamond, but that his name is Steven, and she sits him down so he can play with the Pebbles.

Stepping away, she leans back against the wall and slides to the floor, staring up at the high ceilings of this room, forcing herself to breathe slowly.

Even if she didn’t have near perfect recall, she could  _ never _ forget the first time she was in this room. She can practically feel Nacre’s hand on her back pushing her gently into the room, while she wanted to do  _ nothing but run. _

It had been a grueling month or so with Nacre being drilled on everything she’d need to do. How careful she’d need to be. What her  _ extra responsibilities _ were, for being with this immature, ineffective Diamond who needed someone to keep her organized.

She had been made to fear for her life if she made even the slightest mistake. And while she didn’t  _ remember _ White Diamond, she felt deep in her core that it was reasonable to fear being hurt by her Diamond. 

“Now what do you say?”

“I’m at your service, my Diamond.”

Pearl hadn’t met Pink Diamond yet. Nacre was there because her gem needed to be taken out of standby and connected to Pink Diamond’s gem. For  _ normal _ pearls, they’re delivered to their owners unformed and with no memories. But she’s  _ not _ a normal pearl.

An abnormal pearl for an abnormal Diamond.

“Good. Now how do you keep her doing what she’s supposed to?”

“Respectfully. Don’t presume I have the right to order her around. I’m here to help her, not control her. I’m  _ her _ servant, not the other way around.”

“And how do you do that?”

“Make  _ suggestions _ , explain  _ consequences _ , and  _ never  _ argue.”

“And what do you do if others are around, and it’s not just you and Pink Diamond alone.”

“Conform. Say nothing and act like any other pearl.”

Nacre nodded, and guided her the last few steps into the room, to where Pink Diamond was… sitting on the floor and bouncing a ball off the wall, looking decidedly bored.

It was a strange first impression, and it took Nacre clearing her throat for the Diamond to notice the two of them there and quickly scramble to her feet, towering over the both of them, even as the smallest Diamond.

“Pink Diamond, your grace.” Nacre curtsied low, and Pearl quickly followed suit, keeping her gaze downcast.

“I’m at your service, My Diamond.” Her voice shook as she said it, and she felt Nacre’s fingers digging into the small of her back at the mistake, but Pink Diamond didn’t seem to notice.

“She’s already formed? I thought it wasn’t supposed to be like that? Wasn’t last time…”

“Special Circumstances. She  _ is _ a gift from my Diamond after all.”

Pink scoffed, crossing her arms and starting to tap her foot. “Oh yeah, a  _ gift _ . A hand me down of a pearl she didn’t even  _ want _ .”

Pearl winced despite herself, which again got Nacre’s fingers digging into her back, to the point of pain, and it took everything in her to not react to that.

“She thought this pearl was better suited to you, Pink. She’s very intelligent and will help you quite a bit. It’s a very kind gift, and I wouldn’t take it so lightly, if I were you, your grace.”

Nacre took a device from her gem, and tapped it to Pearl’s gem, making it start to glow, and then smiled sweetly up at Pink Diamond. “Can you come down here, please, your Grace, so I can access your gem?”

Pink Diamond sighed, but did crouch down as asked, and Nacre tapped the same device to Pink’s gem, and hers glowed for a moment as well, before both gems flashed, and Pearl gasped softly, feeling the line magically tying her to the Diamond.

“And you’re all set.” Nacre gently patted Pearl’s back before stepping back. “Don’t break this one.”

Pearl’s snapped out of the memory, blinking slowly as the implications of that hit her, and she shakes her head. That…  _ can’t  _ be right. For as scared as Nacre made her, Rose never would have hurt her. 

But that other Pearl…

No, no. No no. That was… that had to have been  _ White _ who did that. Rose would  _ never _ … 

But… her eyes trail over to Steven, where he’s playing, trying to explain  _ legos _ to the pebbles, and she smiles faintly. When around others  _ conform _ … but one on one…

She has to protect more than just his physical safety. He’s  _ so young _ . She can’t let Homeworld’s ideas get into his head, even if they have to pretend in public.

“Hey, Steven?”

He looks over at her. “Yeah?”

“Come here.” She pats the floor next to her, and he runs over, sitting down next to her and staring at her expectantly. “We’re going to be here a while…”

“Like, how long?”

“… A while. I don’t know how long yet. We’ll get home soon as we can, but… Your mom’s sisters don’t want us to go, you know?”

“Oh, okay? I guess they didn’t see mom for like, a super long time or something? Cause they had a fight?”

“Uh, yes, but they… see, your mom had that fight with them because they… aren’t always… good people.”

“You mean like, Blue Diamond hurting you! I really really thought you were gone!” Tears well up in his eyes and he suddenly hugs her again, and she sighs, gently stroking his hair.

“Yes, like that. So we have to be very,  _ very _ careful around them. If it’s just me and you, you can say and do whatever, right? But if someone else is around we don’t talk unless spoken too, and everything on Earth is a secret, okay?”

“A-A secret? Why?” He mumbles into her side, sniffling slightly.

“Because they don’t understand, and we don’t want to fight again, okay?”

“So… I can’t tell them about all my friends, or my dad?” He hugs her tighter. “Pearl are we in trouble?”

“Uh, ah, a little,” She starts stroking his hair, trying to keep calm herself. “But it’s going to be okay. We just have to play along.”

“Play? Like a game?”

“Uh, y-yes? We- We’re playing  _ pretend  _ with them. You pretend you’re a… prince, and you need to do what the older  _ Queens _ want. But only out there. In here, all by ourselves we don’t have to pretend.”

That’s probably the only thing that’s going to keep her sane. Here at least, she doesn’t have to act like the  _ perfect little servant _ .

“A Prince? So was mom, like, a Princess before she fought with her sisters?”

“Something like that,” Pearl giggles slightly. “But she was a good princess. She cared for her subjects, and for everyone else too.”

“Like from fairytale cartoons!” He pulls back smiling at her. “Does that make her sisters like, the evil Queens?”

“Uh,” Pearl laughs slightly. “Sure. Sure. Evil Queens.”

“Wait what does that make you? What are you pretending to be?”

“Well,” She ruffles his hair. “I was your mother’s loyal  _ knight  _ and servant. It’s my job to keep you safe and take care of you.”

“Oh-” Steven giggles. “But you would do that anyway!”

“Ah, but I wouldn’t call you _ my liege- _ ” She flourishes her hands like she’s bowing despite the fact that they’re  _ sitting _ . “I’m going to be doing the same sort of thing as always, yes, but it’ll be more formal and  _ quiet _ when others are around.”

“Right! Okay. Cause the fact that we’re just pretending is a secret?”

“You got it!” Pearl flashes a grin at him. “Now let’s see if we can get those pebbles to make you a proper bedroom, huh? Cause you need a place to sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to update this once a week every Wednesday but I got excited so... extra update


	4. Chapter 3: Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to settle into a routine for Pearl and Steven, until Blue Diamond extends just the slightest bit of trust... leaving Pearl alone with Sketch.

Things settle into something of a routine over the next few weeks, though Pearl and Steven aren’t allowed out of that room very often, and when they are it’s under the strict supervision of Blue and Yellow Diamond.

Or White Diamond’s pearl, who Pearl is becoming increasingly convinced is  _ not _ under her own control, but that of White Diamond, whom she’s yet to actually see.

Just seeing Blue and Yellow Diamond each once a day for short periods of time, both interacting with Steven like he was just… an even more immature version of Pink, and staring at her suspiciously while also not letting her out of their sights.

And food for Steven delivered twice a day. The same kind that was provided to the humans at the Zoo way back when… Pearl can’t help but wonder if that’s still  _ there _ … 

But it’s mostly the same day after day after day, running into nearly a month now, the only breaks in routine being White Diamond’s Pearl  _ checking in _ .

So being told to stand  _ outside _ Blue Diamond’s pool to wait is something of a shock, and she really doesn’t want to. She does  _ not _ want to leave Steven alone with Blue Diamond, and she almost goes to stand inside anyway, and is only stopped by Sketch grabbing her wrist.

“Stop, no. They’re starting to trust your loyalty again. Going in there against orders will just get you in trouble. I know you’ve never been fond of the rules, Rebel, but you’re on thin ice right now. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I don’t want him alone with her…” Pearl says faintly, but she steps back, ducking her head. “I-I promised I’d keep him  _ safe _ …” 

“Oh. I get it. You genuinely  _ love _ him.”

“He’s my whole world…” She breathes out quietly. “… I loved his Mother too, but not in the same way.” 

“She’s not going to hurt him. She’s-” Sketch takes a shaky breath, shifting her grip to hold Pearl’s hand instead. “She’s been doing nothing but  _ grieving _ since we thought her shattered. Steven is a new hope for her, to get her beloved Pink back.”

She’s right, of course. She doesn’t really need to worry about  _ Blue Diamond _ hurting Steven. At least not physically. Being left out here  _ is _ a good sign.

She’s alone with Sketch. This- This could be her only chance-

“Wait- alright, alright. Ah, this is going to sound strange, but can I borrow your screen for a moment? My friends are in danger and I don’t- I don’t have access to the information I need to find and save them. It might already be too late. You don't  _ have _ to, Looking this up won’t look good on  _ your _ record if it’s noticed, but…”

Sketch only hesitates a moment before taking the screen from her gem and giving it to her. “Rebel, any friends of yours is a friend of mine.”

“You know,” Pearl laughs faintly. “It’s  _ really _ strange to be called that again.”

She takes the screen gratefully though, booting it up and starting to navigate through Blue Diamond’s files, hoping to all hope that she can find where they’re keeping Garnet and Amethyst… and that it’s not too late.

“Used to being the only pearl around then?” Sketch giggles softly. “Rebel maybe isn’t  _ great _ now though, given how much suspicion you’re under, even if it was an innocent joke about you doing Pink Diamond’s job for her…”

Less dangerous than her other nickname.  _ The Terrifying Renegade _ . While they  _ know _ that was her now, she desperately needs to avoid association with it. She’s living by her loyalty to Pink alone right now.

Well that, and them not wanting to upset  _ their new Pink Diamond _ . If it wasn’t for that she’s fairly certain she’d be shattered even despite  _ technically  _ never defying her Diamond, because a Pearl who’s had the kind of freedom she had is  _ dangerous _ .

Thank the  _ Stars _ for Steven… 

“… mmhm. There weren’t many of us out there. No duplicates, so no nicknames.”

“… These friends you want to find, they were on Earth with you?”

Pearl looks up from the screen at Sketch, and smiles faintly. “They’re all I had for thousands of years. I have to at least  _ try _ to help them.”

_ Aha! _ Found it. She mentally takes note of where they’re being held and shuts off the screen, giving it back to Sketch. 

“Thank you. If… If anyone tries to give you grief for that, just sell me out, alright? It’s my risk, not yours.”

Sketch doesn’t say anything, but gives her a smile as if to say  _ I would never _ . She then turns the screen back on, starting to draw on it idly.

“Do you have a way to actually rescue them?”

“… My spear and hours alone every night as Steven sleeps.”

“Oh. I-  _ Be careful _ , okay? Save them if you can, but it’s not worth your own life.” She doesn’t look up from her drawing, but the lines are clearly shaky from her hand trembling. “I just got you back, I don’t want to lose you again.”

Through the war she considered time and time and time again telling Sketch what they were doing. Inviting her to run away from Blue Diamond and join them, but never did. She was always too afraid that Sketch would say  _ no _ , and she didn’t want to face that rejection.

She almost  _ did _ that last time they saw each other before the faked shattering. They were in the moon base, while Blue and Pink were arguing in the control room above them, while the pair of them were left in the mapped room.

“… Pink must be so scared, for this to be happening on her first colony. And all caused by one of her prized Rose Quartzes.” Sketch walked over and put her hand on the observation orb, turning the room around them to the image of one of the battlefields, and Pearl was immediately tense at their new apparent surroundings.

“It’s strange though, that she’s had a pearl at her side that whole time. Where did she even come from, I wonder. This… renegade. Curious, isn’t it  _ Rebel _ ?”

Did she know? That her friend Rebel was the  _ terrifying renegade _ ? 

“Y-Yes, very curious.” She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. She could hear Pink screaming above them. A last ditch effort to convince Blue to just  _ leave _ the Earth before they go through with her plan.

She felt trapped in that decision. She knew it wasn’t a good idea, but just  _ personally _ she  _ needed  _ Pink Diamond as a concept to  _ die _ . Because she couldn’t go on like that anymore. If Pink got what she wanted then… Pearl would have had to turn on her, because she really couldn’t stay as property. Never again, she thought…

Sketch didn’t deserve to stay as property either, and she almost said something. Confessed to being the renegade. Almost told her the plan, and offered her a chance to explain… 

But she didn’t.

… No, instead she just abandoned her first ever friend and let her think she was probably  _ dead _ .

Then again, it might have been for the best. If Sketch  _ had _ joined them, she probably would have met the same fate as almost every other of her friends from the war. Corrupted or shattered. She, Garnet, and Rose were the only survivors after all… 

Standing here on Homeworld now, it all feels like such a  _ waste _ . Like the only good thing that came out of any of it was  _ Steven _ . Protecting the Earth, of course, but personally… just  _ Steven _ . 

A thousand years of stress and fighting, and  _ lying _ and fearing for her life to just end up standing here again as now  _ Steven’s _ property.

“I will be careful, I promise.”

A dripping wet Steven runs out of the pool room, jumping into Pearl’s arms, giggling as he does. “Pearl! Guess what!? I did a cannonball for Blue Diamond and it created this big splash and it was really cool!”

Pearl’s eyes trail toward Blue Diamond also exiting the pool room, and Pearl sits Steven down and pulls a towel from her gem, crouching to start drying him off.

“You are going to track water everywhere…” She wishes she could punctuate that with a  _ My Diamond _ , because Blue Diamond’s gaze is fixed down on the both of them, but she  _ can’t _ . So she just has to hope Blue Diamond doesn’t take this as being  _ too familiar _ . She’s supposed to keep a respectful distance after all. She’s here to serve, not to love. “It would be improper to make a mess in Blue Diamond’s palace.”

Steven blinks a few times, seeming a little confused. In the past few weeks he’s forgotten fairly often that they’re supposed to be  _ pretending _ , so his confusion at her sudden formality isn’t a surprise. “… I guess.”

“Take him back to his room.” Blue Diamond says coolly, and Pearl nods quickly, standing back up, and quickly curtsying and gesturing Steven to walk ahead of her. She has to lead from behind because it’s improper for a Pearl to walk in front, and as Sketch said… she’s on thin ice.

“… you seem sad, Pearl.”

Pearl stops walking, blinking a few times at his comment, then holds her breath as she picks up walking again, not responding until they’re back in his room, where the only listening ears could be the Pebbles.

“… What would make you think I’m sad, Steven?”

“You barely smile anymore. And you seem really,  _ really _ scared of Mom’s sisters. I don’t- They’re still kinda mean, but I don’t think we need to be  _ scared _ …” 

Those words terrify her more than  _ anything _ and she can’t help but wince, but she crouches down in front of him, reaching forward and gently cupping his cheek.

“Don’t worry about me, Steven. I’m alright, really. But  _ please _ listen to me when I say this: You  _ cannot _ trust them. I know they’re being really nice to you  _ now _ , but they’re  _ evil queens _ , remember?”

“Uh- Uh, oh-okay?” His gaze falls to the ground, and it sounds like he’s going to start crying. “ _ Pearl _ , how- how much trouble are we  _ in _ ? Where are Garnet and Amethyst? Are they okay?”

No- no no, she doesn’t want him to start crying again. She’s been doing her best to keep him happy despite the gravity of the situation, and she does not want to be the reason he starts crying again.

“They’re fine! I’m- I’m going to get them tonight.”

Fine insofar that they aren’t  _ shattered _ , or harvested. Yet. Just… poofed in bubbles. She doesn’t have much time to rescue them, so she really  _ has _ to do it tonight.

“But you can’t  _ tell anyone _ that I’m going, alright? It’s very,  _ very _ important that stays a secret.”

“…You need to save them, don’t you? They’re gonna be hurt…” He sniffles, tears welling up in his eyes, and he throws himself at her, hugging tightly. “You gotta save the day- you gotta-”

Pearl weaves her fingers into his hair, letting out a heavy breath. She didn’t want him to cry again. What can she say to make him feel better… 

“ _ Always _ , Steven.  _ We _ always save the day, remember?”

He goes quiet for a moment before starting to giggle and pulling back from her with a grin despite his tears. “You remember that song?”

“It wasn’t even long ago that you wrote it, silly.” Her perfect recall aside, it was less than a year ago.  _ Of course _ she remembers. “Though we won’t be going out for any pizzas for a while.”

“… I wish I had my ukulele here…”

“Oh!” Pearl gets her own newly issued- and  _ highly restricted _ \- screen out, and forces a smile at him. “We can requisition one, Steven. You can just ask for anything your heart desires. If we can describe it, it can be made.”

It only takes a moment to write up a good enough description of a Ukulele to have one made, and she gently ruffles his hair.

“You’ll have a new ukulele by morning.”

He smiles back at her, quiet for a moment, before grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her to play with him and the pebbles.

Yellow Diamond cancelled on them today, so it’s just that- with a break for Steven to eat- until it’s time for him to go to bed. 

She stares out the window for a while after he’s asleep, waiting to make sure White Diamond’s Pearl isn’t coming to check on them early in the night like she has a few times before now.

She doesn’t though for as long as Pearl dares to wait at least, and she slips out of the room, making a leap off an edge as soon as she can, to just fall down to lower levels, before abruptly catching herself on a hall entrance of one of the deepest occupied levels of the structures covering the planet. 

Pulling herself up into the hall, she holds very still, visually scanning every inch of the walls floors and ceilings for gem detectors. If there is one she  _ has _ to find another entrance to the level. It would be a death sentence for her gem to be detected here.

It looks clear, so she hesitantly moves forward, watching every step just as carefully to go undetected. She’s actually one level up from the bubble storage her friends are in, but going in from above is  _ definitely _ her only chance to get there without setting off any detectors. 

It’s quiet here. Unusually so. This area of this level is primarily storage, so it’s not the most highly trafficked but she would have expected someone by now… The quiet is more worrying than the possibility of having to hide from someone.

Could this be a trap? She trusts that Sketch wouldn’t have betrayed her, but what if there was someone she couldn’t see listening to them?

As if summoned by the thought, Pearl hears soft footsteps around the corner, and she quickly ducks into one of the storage rooms lining this hall, hardly having time to check for a gem detector.

She’d rather take her chances with an automated detector right now than with an actual person.

“Did you hear something?”

That… sounded like a  _ pearl’s voice _ …?

“ _ Shut up _ . Do you want us to get caught? From what I heard they’re moving them  _ tomorrow _ . This is our only chance.” 

Those- Those are two pearls. She’s  _ sure _ of it, and she puts her hand on the inside of the door, ready to open it, but she hesitates. It still could be a trap. She knows Nacre doesn’t trust her, and this would be easy to arrange… 

“Yeah, and if there’s someone here to catch us, we’ll be  _ shattered. _ ”

“Look, I ran through here  _ hours _ ago. No one is here. But if we’re  _ too loud _ , we’ll wake the sensors back up. Now do you want to get these mysterious Earth gems  _ or not _ ?”

The voices are stopped just outside Pearl’s door, and she has her hand pressed flat against it, her fingers splayed out.

Is she not the only one trying to stage a rescue?

“… Do… Do you think they’re really rebels? It just seems so impossible…”

“I’m older than you, Joy. It’s real. The Crystal Gems were  _ real _ . They even had a  _ pearl _ .”

“The terrifying renegade? She was really  _ real _ ? Did you ever  _ see _ her?”

“Nope, never been to Earth. No one even knows who she belonged to, or where she came from. But I’m telling you, it was  _ real _ . And we  _ can’t _ let the only survivors of that noble attempt get executed…”

“Okay, okay, but, I’m  _ still _ sure I heard someone here.”

“Look, go on ahead then. Get them, I’ll check through  _ again _ to make sure there’s no witnesses. We only have ten more minutes before the detectors in that room come back online.”

“... yeah, okay.”

One set of footsteps fade away, and a moment later there’s a soft knocking on the door, which Pearl immediately flinches back from. It then opens, revealing a pink Pearl with her gem on her shoulder in a long sleeve dress that has the shoulders cut out, and the skirt is at an angle with translucent white fabric down to her knees under it.

“Got a nickname, pearly?” Her dark pink eyes sweeps up and down Pearl, and she bristles uncomfortably, not sure what to make of this.

“Rebel.” She says softly after a moment.

The other Pearl reaches forward and grabs her by the wrist pulling her back into the hall. “You came in with Pink Diamond, Rebel?”

“Well, his name is  _ Steven _ , but… yes.”

“Huh. Look, I’m sure you’re here after those other gems on Earth. All that time stuck there must’ve made you guys pretty good friends, but don’t worry your pretty little gem about it. They’re in good hands, and I’m sure  _ you _ are being watched very closely. Wouldn’t do any good for any suspicion to be cast on you for what Joy and I are about to do. Try to get your presence at…  _ Steven’s _ side confirmed by someone. Get her to bug one of the other Diamond’s if you have to. Just  _ go _ .”

“But-”

“Don’t argue with me! We don’t have time for this! It’s not worth your life, alright?”

Pearl’s a little dazed by this happening at all. Who  _ are _ these two? Can she  _ trust _ them? She might  _ have _ to, at this rate, so she just nods, and starts back the way she came.

“Hey, one question though?”

Pearl spins back around towards the other pearl, and raises her eyebrows, but keeps walking backward.

“How does a Diamond’s pearl get a nickname like Rebel?”

“Well," She flashes a grin. A real, _genuine_ smile. Probably the first since she got to Homeworld. "What else would a defect with no respect for the rules be called? You better keep them safe though, or I  _ will _ find you, and you might learn my  _ other _ nickname.”

And with that, Pearl turns on her heel and  _ runs _ , racing to get back to Steven’s room, just barely hearing her gasp and mumble “ _ no way _ …”.

She doesn’t want to wake him up, but she has a very small window of time here, and her location needs to be confirmed to make sure there’s no suspicion on her…  _ or _ Sketch.

She always knew she couldn’t be the only pearl discontented with the system, but she thought she was the only one ever willing to  _ fight _ for it.

Maybe not though, if those two really are going out to rescue three gems slated for execution…

She’s going to keep an eye out, for the one she saw. She can’t help but wonder how far their activities  _ go _ . How much they’ve  _ done…  _ She’s going to trust them though. Not that she had much choice… but if she can’t trust other pearls, then she can’t trust  _ anyone _ , really… 


	5. Chapter 4: Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl gets out of her attempt to rescue Garnet and Amethyst unscathed, but it's hard not to lose hope as there's little she can do to get them home safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a content warning of a quick but very explicit reference to White Diamond having cracked Pearl's gem in the past

The doors close behind her with a heavy thunk, and Pearl can’t help the sigh of relief, to be back out here, and with Steven who was waiting and talking Yellow Diamond’s Pearl’s ear off.

Said Pearl glares at her, then glances at the door, then back to glaring at her. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but you leave her out of it.”

_ Her _ ? Real specific...

“Well, Good morning to you too,  _ Sunshine _ .” She rolls her eyes. She’s never much got along with this particular Pearl. She’s a suck up to Yellow Diamond and she’s always been disdainful towards Pearl's own disregard of  _ the rules  _ when they got in the way.

“And I’m not up to anything. Yellow Diamond thought I might have been somewhere- she wasn’t particularly clear where- at a time that she really should have known I wasn’t, given that  _ she _ saw me at that time. With Steven, in his room. Right where I was supposed to be.”

She’s very,  _ very _ grateful for those two other pearls. She might have been able to get out of trouble if she was careful without them, but thanks to them she had a bulletproof alibi. She  _ couldn’t _ have been the one that made away with those bubbles, because she was standing behind Steven on a video call while he told her all about the Ukulele he was getting.

He didn’t have any trouble thinking of something to say to Yellow Diamond when she woke him up to call.

“Don’t call me that!” She snaps, huffing and crossing her arms.. “And  _ fine _ . But you’re still  _ trouble _ . Don’t drag me into it. Or her. ”

“You’re going to have to be more specific who you mean.”

“Our third!! Blue Diamond’s Pearl!! Ah!” She spins around to face away from Pearl, grumbling under her breath and glaring at the wall.

“Oh, Sketch. Why didn’t you just say that? I know you know her nickname.”

“Our names are  _ Pearl _ . All of us are  _ Pearl _ . It’s improper to deviate from our names. It’s disrespectful to our purpose.”

“Do you  _ enjoy _ your purpose?”

“That doesn’t matter! My purpose-  _ our _ purpose is what we’re  _ for _ , and it’s what we should do. I swear, you’re trying to get yourself shattered.”

“I’ve done nothing but what Rose wanted from me. I don’t see how that’s  _ not _ my purpose.”

“And,” She whirls to face Pearl again. “Why do you keep calling Pink Diamond  _ Rose _ or  _ Steven _ !?”

“Well actually Steven’s my name?” Steven readily pipes up, and the other Pearl jumps several feet back, blinking quickly. Did she forget he was here?

“Yes,” Pearl puts a hand on his shoulder. “He’s  _ not _ the same person as his mother, so he has a different name. As for why  _ Rose _ …” She sighs softly. “Well, you know just as well as I do that we can’t defy orders from our owners.”

“She ordered you to call her Rose?” She says flatly, narrowing her eyes.

“Not exactly. It’s moreso that I can’t…” She twirls a hand in the air. “There are things I can’t say.”

“So  _ silence _ was ordered.”

“ _ Yes _ .”

“Whatcha talkin about?” Steven looks up at her, smiling brightly.

“Oh, nothing you need to worry about, Steven. We should be heading back to your room though. I’m sure you want to play with your new ukulele, huh!”

“I do!! Yellow Diamond wanted us  _ super _ early this morning…” He pauses, yawning. “So I didn’t have a chance!!”

“Oh, how about you play for a bit, then take a nap until lunch time, sleepyhead.”

“Awww, do I have to?”

“Yes, Steven. You were up late last night too. You need your rest.” She ruffles his hair. “But you can play first.”

He squeals happily then darts off ahead of her. She glances back at the other Pearl, and smiles slightly.

“You don’t have to be afraid of him. He’s not like the others.”

“Have you  _ seen _ White Diamond’s Pearl?” She shakes her head. “I’m not letting my guard down around Pink.”

“...  _ White  _ did that to her. I can certainly tell you she’s capable of it.” Pearl shakes her head, then goes off after Steven.

She did neatly get out of trouble, and from a quiet conversation with Sketch, it  _ seems _ like no one was caught for the disappearance of those bubbles. That’s good to know.

She just wishes she knew who they were. She saw one of them, but she’s very isolated, only seeing Steven, Blue and Yellow Diamond, and the other three Diamond’s Pearls. She doesn’t have any opportunity to watch for other pearls to possibly recognize her.

She was  _ pink _ though, so the longer they’re here the more likely they might see her, because her  _ owner _ would be in Steven’s court. It’s just a matter of time, for the other Diamonds to try to return to the normals they had with Pink in the past…

But that matter of time is a  _ while _ and  _ months  _ drag by. Steven’s birthday comes. She was counting the hours to keep track of Earth days, so she wouldn’t miss it.

She couldn’t do  _ much _ for him, but she tried to make it a good day, requisitioning a  _ Piano _ , and offering to teach him to play. She knows he loves music more than anything, and that she can do.

He’s a fast learner though, especially with music. She’s going to run out of instruments she can teach him relatively quickly.

But she made him smile for his birthday. It was the least she could do with just her. He misses home. A lot. She can’t give him  _ Home _ though. She can’t even give him more of his  _ family _ . She doesn’t know where they are.

She’s all he has. 

She’s pretty sure she’s _ not enough _ . She was never enough for Rose either, but this is  _ so much worse _ . Steven is so young, and he needs so much more than she can give. And how isolated they still are, months later… it’s going to be a  _ long _ time before she can even  _ hope _ to try to get him home safe to his father…

It might be too late, at that point. She’s  _ sure _ she’s hurting him down the road, by just not being  _ enough _ . A lot of nights while he’s sleeping are spent crying because she doesn’t know what else to  _ do _ . She feels helpless and trapped and… like nothing more than an object again, even if  _ Steven _ doesn’t think of her that way. It’s all she can do to keep her increasing distress hidden from Steven.

The worst thing is how  _ easy _ it is, to slip back into her old role, after all this time. Perfect Pearl in public, and in private the responsible one to mind an immature Diamond. An actual  _ child _ this time, but  _ so  _ **_so_ ** similar… It’s  _ effortless  _ to do it again.

But it  _ hurts _ . It always did, to some extent. She’s not cut out for this. She’s  _ defective _ . Like Nacre always said. She can’t do what she was made for properly, and trying to feels like she’s slowly drowning. Metaphorically, of course.

It’s hard not to give up, to try to just make Steven’s life on Homeworld as happy as she can if they’re never going to get back to Earth.

But she can’t let herself forget that if other pearls can fight back, can risk their lives to rescue  _ her _ friends… then she can’t just give up. 

She’s standing next to Sketch outside Blue Diamond’s room. She’s had Steven in there alone for a while, and it’s starting to stress Pearl out. She  _ does not _ like him being alone with them too long. Even beyond worrying about them influencing Steven, she’s worried Steven might say something he shouldn’t. He’s a good kid, but he’s just a  _ kid _ …

She closes her eyes and sighs, fiddling with her sleeve behind her back. Just  _ breathe _ . She can’t show how miserable she is. Not just for Steven’s sake, but her own. Pearls aren’t supposed to show their feelings like this. Not really. It’s not  _ pretty _ , to be unhappy.

“Can I ask you something?” Sketch says softly, and Pearl lifts her head quickly, opening her eyes and looking sidelong at her friend.

Before she can answer, Sketch is turning to face her, and brushing hair out of one of her eyes to look Pearl in the eye. “… You… You were…” She takes a shaky breath, shifting to clasp her hands together, leaning forward towards her slightly. “You were the Renegade Pearl during the war, weren’t you?”

Pearl winces slightly, looking away from her and leaning into her hand. “I don’t know how that matters now, considering…”

Even if it  _ did _ matter, she doesn’t want to get Sketch into trouble with her. This is  _ her _ fight, as hopeless as it seems. She’s not going to put her only friend here in danger with her.

“It  _ does _ matter.” Sketch says immediately, grabbing her wrist and pulling Pearl towards her slightly, much to her surprise. “It  _ did _ . I was always  _ awed _ by what you were doing. I… I wish it had worked…”

Pearl’s at a loss for words, her free hand hovering in front of her mouth as she slowly starts to smile, and it’s hard not to start crying.

She was afraid for nothing all along. Sketch really was right there with her, the whole time. She  _ believed in them _ . What they were doing… That’s…

Those two other pearls cross her mind, and she gasps softly, shifting to take Sketch’s hand rather than having her own wrist help onto, and she steps a little closer.

“It’s not too late!” She says quickly, but being careful to keep her voice low.  _ No one _ can over hear this conversation. “Or at least it doesn’t have to be. But I’d need your help.”

Sketch brushes her hair out of one of her eyes again, and nods immediately. “What do you need? How can I help?”

“Don’t agree so quickly.” Pearl shakes her head. “This will be dangerous.  _ Very _ dangerous.”

Her mind is racing. She  _ needs _ to find those two pearls. Sketch just made her realize something. It’s not just her, not just  _ them _ who don’t want the status quo. Who don’t want to be  _ property _ .

Homeworld might just treat them like pretty little dolls, but… 

Who could she trust, but  _ other pearls _ ? It might be the only chance she has, and maybe… just  _ maybe _ they could pull off what they wanted so long ago with the rebellion on Earth.

Freedom.  _ Real _ freedom for all gems.

It’s perfect though, really. There are  _ hundreds _ of pearls on homeworld, with good reason to fight back, and they're all constantly in the halls of the powerful… Often even with the ability to act on the behalf of their  _ owners _ … 

“… Are you asking me to be a Crystal Gem, Rebel?” 

“What you want to call yourself is up to you, but I  _ am _ asking you to cause trouble with me, if you’re willing to take the risk.”

“Absolutely.” She grabs Pearl’s other hand, and grins at her. “What do you need me to do?”

“Starting out? Find someone. When I went to rescue the other Crystal Gems, I was actually sent away. By  _ another pearl _ . There were two there to do exactly what I was intending to, but I only saw one of them.”

“Oh. Because I have access to more information than you?”

“And more outside contact in general.” She pauses, looking around carefully to make  _ absolutely certain _ that no one is watching them, before projecting an image of said pearl. “She was  _ pink _ in color, and the other pearl with her that I didn’t see was nicknamed Joy.”

“I know her.” She says at once. “Well, sort of. We’ve never spoken, but she belongs to a Pink Sapphire. Do… Do you want me to try to talk to her, or… oh, I know! You’ve been here for some time now. I bet I could… just…  _ quietly suggest _ to my Diamond that maybe it’s time to start to give Pink her court back, starting with, maaaaybe a Sapphire that could help advise him.”

“She… wouldn’t be mad at you for speaking out of turn?” Pearl says slowly, but she can’t help but grin. Sketch seems to be picking up  _ exactly _ what she’s thinking, with that idea.

“I speak very little as is. One suggestion won’t hurt anything, and I know she  _ wants  _ to start to bring things to normal. I think she hopes it would bring White Diamond back out of her own head.”

“Then yes,  _ do that _ . That would help  _ immensely _ , Sketch.” She pauses. “About White though…”

“I know, you probably don’t want to see her, and you’re perfectly happy to have her hiding out in her head. I don’t know if you actually  _ remember _ anyth-”

“No, no- not that. That’s not what I mean. Though, ah, not much. Nacre made sure of that.” She shakes her head. “I wanted to ask about her  _ pearl _ . Is she… being…  _ controlled  _ by White?”

“I don’t know. She was the one with Pink, before you-”

“I gathered that much.”

“But she just showed up one day, shortly after Pink’s supposed shattering, and she was…  _ like that _ . She was a normal pearl before, so being directly controlled by White is definitely…  _ possible _ …”

It would be a  _ big _ risk to do anything about that, but  _ still _ . Might be worth the trouble. She can’t imagine how horrible it must be, if she really is being controlled… Orders are bad enough in how they strip away free will. That… would be something else  _ entirely _ , and it’s horrible.

That scar in place of her eye is the most unnerving, and it brings Pearl back to one of her few memories of White every time she sees it. A memory of getting thrown back against the wall with enough force to crack her gem after a simple slip up.

She’s sure Nacre fixed her gem right away, but the memory ends there. But it’s  _ enough _ for her to feel anxious and pained just seeing that poor pearl. 

A problem for another day though. For now, she just has to hope Sketch’s idea works.

The door to Blue Diamond’s room starts to open, and the two quickly jump apart, both crossing their arms behind their back, like they  _ weren’t _ just standing very close together and holding hands.

Sketch gives her a slight smile as she and Steven leave, and Pearl readily returns it.

This could actually work. 

“You seem happier!” Steven chirps innocently as they walk back to his room.

“I  _ am _ happier.”


	6. Chapter 5: Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl manages to meet the other pearl she spoke to briefly.

It takes a few times explaining it for Steven to understand that he needs to keep Pink Sapphire distracted for as long as possible.

Pearl is honestly still a little shocked that Sketch’s idea worked, and she can’t stop grinning about it. She had audibly gasped when she saw it appear on Steven’s itinerary, and made it clear as she could to Steven how  _ important _ this was.

Even now, just a few minutes before they’re supposed to get here, she’s fussing over him, straightening his collar and trying in vain to neaten his curls.

“Remember, I need to talk to her Pearl without her noticing-“

“So I gotta keep her distracted. I know! The other pearl though- you like- you said she’s the one keeping Garnet and Amethyst safe and stuff, right?”

“Mmhm. Yes. Which is  _ why _ I need to talk to her. I need to check up on them, you know?”

“Why can’t they just come visit?” He pouts, biting his lip. “I miss them a lot.”

“I-I miss them too, Steven.”

She wishes they were here. She’s still well aware that she’s not  _ enough _ for Steven, but at least she has some semblance of a plan now.

“But you know why they can’t be here.”

“… Because Mom’s sisters don’t like them and want to hurt them?” He asks quietly. “I-I really don’t- I don’t get it though, Pearl? Like, they’re mostly nice?”

“To  _ you _ , Steven. They’re nice to you.”

“And you-” He stops, seeing her shake her head quickly. “Or not? Are they like, hurting you? Ohmygosh! Pearl are you okay!?”

“I’m alright, Steven. I just have to be very  _ careful _ , or I’ll get in a lot of trouble. And probably be sent away for a while. And we don’t want that now do we?” She taps his nose, and he giggles slightly, but still lurches forward to hug her really tight.

“Please be super extra careful then.” He says quietly. “I’d miss you lots and lots too, and- and I- You’re all of home I have- Pearl…” His words fade off into unintelligible mumbles, and Pearl sighs softly, just hugging him back and stroking his hair for a moment.

“Steven, sweetie, they’ll be here any moment. We have to pretend, remember?”

She hates her own fears affecting him like this, but she doesn’t know what else she can do. Her very survival is reliant on his playing along with the Diamonds. He  _ can’t _ not know what’s going on to some extent…And that means knowing how  _ dangerous _ this is.

Steven pulls back from the hug, and nods slightly at her. “Right. I just… gotta distract her?”

“As long as you can.”

She stands up quickly at the sound of footsteps, and crosses her arms behind her back, taking a half step back away from Steven, just as a Sapphire with light pink curly hair twisted into a bun, and her bangs covering her eye like most sapphires, and behind her-

_ Aha _ !

She locks gazes with the pearl, who sighs softly and goes to stand next to her as Steven drags Pink Sapphire into playing with legos.

“I’m very glad Sketch knew who you were. It would have taken me a  _ while _ to find you, with how limited my access is right now.” Pearl says quietly, and the other bristles.

“Alright Rebel,” She pauses, glancing nervously over at Steven and Pink Sapphire. “…I’ll bite. Who’s Sketch?”

“First tell you  _ your _ nickname. I caught  _ Joy’s _ nickname before, but yours wasn’t said.”

“… I’m Mole. Probably the most knowledgeable pearl on this planet. But I still don’t know who  _ Sketch _ is.”

“Blue Diamond’s Pearl. She’s a friend, and you’re  _ here  _ thanks to her.”

“ _ Why _ am I here? Are you worried that your friends aren’t safe? They’re still in bubbles right now- not had a safe opportunity to get them somewhere safe, so that’s the best place for them for now- but they’re  _ fine _ . And no one is going to find them.”

“That’s good to know, but that’s not why. I wanted to talk to you.”

“… Are you really the Renegade? You- You implied that-”

“I certainly am. And Sketch and I are looking to bring the rebellion to the Diamond’s doorstep. Really, they brought it on themselves, dragging me all the way back here.”

“…  _ Oh _ .” She gasps softly. “Joy, and Shop and I always wanted, but… It’s just us three… like, what real difference could just three pearls make…” 

“Shop? Ah, later, if we have time.” She quickly glances at Steven and Pink Sapphire. “We only have as long as Steven can keep her distracted.”

“Wait wait  _ wait _ \- Are you implying your  _ Diamond _ is on our side?”

“… Mm. Steven isn’t the person you’re thinking he is exactly. But… more or less. Ah, how do I say this… The Rebellion was led by  _ Rose Quartz _ -” She carefully enunciates Rose’s name to emphasize it. “I met  _ Rose _ here on Homeworld, with Nacre literally pushing me into this room.”

“… Why are you talking like…?”

Pearl just puts her hands over her mouth and looks at Mole significantly, who winces and looks away.

“A silence order? So… are you implying that… Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond all along?”

She nods slightly, and Mole exhales slowly, running a hand through her hair. 

“Ah- Alright. That’s… Wait, okay, but how is…  _ Steven _ not who I think?”

“We do  _ not _ have time for this.” She shakes her head quickly. “Just accept that he’s  _ not _ for now. He’s a new…” She twirls her hand in the air hoping the implied  _ Pink Diamond _ is obvious. “But you and your friends have more freedom than Sketch and I do. We  _ need _ you.”

“… Right. Right. Alright. What do you need?”

“Right this second? Information. My screen is restricted and Sketch’s is monitored. And we have no communication outside of each other. But  _ you _ -”

“Have more ability to move unimpeded, because we aren’t a  _ important _ . … Shop could probably get you a cracked screen, full access; no monitoring, especially if we could get Sketch’s access codes, but it’d take some time. What else?”

“… Recruitment. Because you’re right; just three pearls can’t do much. Just five pearls can’t do much. But do you really think we’re the only five pearls on Homeworld who want  _ freedom _ ?”

“… Ah. I can  _ try _ … Joy would probably be better at that. She’s likable. … I have a lot of information already though, do… do you have any  _ questions _ ?”

“… You and Joy shut off the sensors, to get Garnet and Amethyst.  _ How _ ?”

“Oh. Shopkeep. She has  _ connections _ because she kinda runs an underground contraband shop, and a Peridot owed her a favor.”

“Mm. That could be useful. Good to know. How did you and Joy end up trying to rescue them?”

“Pinky tends to just blurt out whatever she sees and she’s nosey so she looks into things she has no business in, and she mentioned that the  _ Crystal Gems _ were going to be shattered, and Shop got a Zircon to tell us the execution date. And neither me or Joy were willing to let  _ genuine rebels _ die like that.” She goes quiet for a moment. “How did you manage to avoid that?”

“… Technically I never disobeyed her.”

“ _ Oh _ , wow. Got out on a technicality. No wonder I hear that you’re on thin ice. You be careful though. They’re looking for any reason to shatter you.”

“I’m well aware. But it’s worth every risk. Not just for not just for finishing what the War started… but to get Steven back  _ home _ . To Earth, where he belongs.” She stares sadly over at Steven for a moment, where he’s building  _ around  _ Pink Sapphire, who really seems quite confused by this all. “… Besides, we’re playing it safe right this second. Just gathering information and connections. The suspicion on me will let up eventually. Blue Diamond is already relaxing about it.”

“Is it just you and Sketch then? Not the other two?”

“Oh,” Pearl crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. “ _ Right _ , Yellow’s pearl is such a ray of sunshine… Ah, as for White’s… don’t trust her. She’s probably not in her own control, but directly being puppeted by White Diamond.”

“Uh, o-okay? So that’s a no-go on Sunshine, and an  _ avoid at all costs _ for White’s…”

Pearl laughs slightly at Mole just taking her mocking as a nickname, but quickly reels it in and nods seriously at the second part of her statement.

“I’m trying to figure out something to do about that, but it’s  _ difficult _ to act on that safely,  _ especially _ with  _ White _ …”

“Yeah, I’ve heard she’s a nightmare. I’ve seen her with two pearls in my lifetime, one of them was an anxious mess constantly, and the other is… Ah, apparently under her direct control. But also  _ scarred, _ which is horrifying?”

“… Hello, I’m the anxious mess.” 

“ _ Wait _ -” She gasps, then quickly claps a hand over her mouth, glancing nervously over at Pink Sapphire and Steven, but they don’t seem to have noticed. “Are you serious?”

“I don’t really remember much of it, but I’m a hand-me-down to be here right now.”

“If- if you could  _ remember _ , oh wow, the things you must have seen, with White Diamond…”

“Nacre is good at what she does though, erasing every trace of that from my gem as much as she could. I’ve gotten bits and pieces back, but they’re all… just…  _ unpleasant _ .”

“… Oh. Well… try to?” Mole shifts nervously. “Or not, I guess, if it would be too painful. I can’t fathom how awful it must be to be with a  _ Diamond _ . I’m lucky, to have Pinky. I still need to be careful, but she’s… nice, I suppose. And doesn’t ever  _ say anything _ , if she’s noticed me disappearing sometimes.” She pauses. “How’d you even get away when you tried to rescue your frie- Wait, right  _ Steven _ is on our side.”

“Yes, yes, though he was also  _ asleep _ . I actually had to wake him up to call Yellow Diamond for my alibi.” Pearl watches them for a moment, smiling slightly at Pink Sapphire actually starting to get into playing with him. “Generally I can get away most nights, so long as I avoid gem detectors. So if you have potential places we could meet up…”

“... Oh. That- That certainly makes things easier. Are you sure you wouldn’t be missed? By the other Diamonds?”

“They know he needs to sleep at night, so they don’t bother with either of us then. The likelihood of me being missed is very,  _ very _ small.” She rocks slightly on the balls of her feet. White’s pearl sometimes shows up, but it’s rare enough that it… should be worth the risk.

“Can you make it down to level 4C without tripping any sensors tonight then? You ought to meet Joy and Shopkeep.”

“… Absolutely.”

The two have about twenty minutes more to talk privately, with Pearl getting as much information as she can about how Homeworld  _ now _ differs from how it was before the war. And it’s clear Mole wasn’t kidding and that she  _ is _ well informed.

The biggest change though- aside from technology marching on, which was to be expected- is the apparent  _ resource crisis  _ in Era 2. Losing Pink must have  _ really _ affected the other Diamonds, if they faltered enough to cause a  _ resource crisis _ . 

As callous as it seems to think it, the Diamonds faltering could be useful. They might be in a place to actually be  _ influenced _ right now. But… it would have to be through Steven, which makes it more difficult. He’s earnest, and lovable and very kind… he’s not manipulative at all.

Ah, she’ll worry about that later.

That night, after tucking Steven into bed, she slips out, and goes to meet them as planned, looking curiously around, before her wrist is grabbed and she’s dragged into a secret room and she’s face to face with a yellow pearl that has chin length hair which curls up at the bottom, and dark gold eyes, with her soft yellow gem on her chest, with a diamond cut out in her shirt around it.

And then she beams at Pearl, putting her hands on each of her shoulders, leaning forward slightly. “Hi! You must be Rebel! I’m Joy! You know, I  _ KNEW _ I heard someone else around when we were going to rescue your friends. Glad it was just you! Or well, not  _ JUST _ you, because you’re… the real  _ Renegade  _ so that’s definitely not a  _ just _ but like- like it was  _ just you _ as in it was someone friendly and not a mean Agate or something. Does that make sense?”

“Uhh…”

“Relax a little, Joy. You’re overwhelming her.” Another Pearl says softly, sitting on the floor in the corner. She’s a dark coloured Pearl with near black but pink tinted hair in a straight bob, green eyes, a diaphanous pink shawl over a black leotard- with a diamond cut out around her gem on her stomach- with purple leggings that go just over her knees.

“Ah, you must be Shopkeep.”

“The one and only.” She responds just as softly as before, not moving at all to get up. “Our third is running later, but from what I understand you two already had a lengthy chat today?”

Pearl nods slightly, and Joy giggles, throwing an arm around Pearl’s shoulders, making her go very stiff at the unexpected contact before quickly ducking out of it and backing up against the wall. Joy doesn’t seem fazed by the rejection though, still grinning. 

“It must have been so exciting, to fight for your freedom on Earth!!”

“Oh, uh,”

“Given that she, the three you and Mo rescued, and Pink Diamond were the only survivors, I can’t imagine it was really  _ that _ great.”

“Well- no, no. It  _ was _ , I mean. It was war- war is never- but… the freedom was the best feeling in the world.”

“I hope you’re right, Rebel.” Mole says, coming in behind her. “I really hope you’re right about that. Because this is going to be the biggest risk any of us three have ever taken.”

“It’s worth it. Every bit of struggling and fighting is  _ worth it _ . I promise that much.”

“Well you can for sure count us in!” Joy chirps. “I’m so excited!!! I look forward to the day I get to put my knife in Heli’s face.” She fluidly takes a dagger from her gem, effortlessly spinning the hilt between her finger.

“ _ Slow down _ , Joy.” Shopkeep gets to her feet, staring her down. “We can’t just rush into this willy nilly. You’ll get to do plenty of stabbing I’m sure, but me and Mole have a lot of groundwork to do before that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t be excited to do it eventually. Heli is a jerk.”

“They’re a little rough around the edges,” Mole says quietly. “But you know what, I think we can really do this.”

Pearl chuckles, then flashes a grin herself. “Oh, I  _ know _ we can do this. The Diamonds are finally going to learn why they shouldn’t have underestimated us pearls.”


	7. Chapter 6: Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> White Diamond finally meets Steven

Every single instinct of Pearl’s is screaming at her to run as they’re walking into the  _ white _ halls of the Diamond palace. In the months she’s been back here with Steven, they haven’t been over here even once. And now,  _ now _ suddenly White Diamond wants to see Steven.

She’s terrified.

She’s running through every risky thing she’s done recently in her head, trying desperately to figure out if she may have been caught, or if this is just very unfortunate timing for a first meeting with White.

Getting to outside White Diamond’s room, her pearl is there waiting, with that unnerving smile fixed on her face.

Pearl’s throat feels tight just standing here and her gaze lingers on the other’s scarred over eye.

She can practically feel the intense pain of a cracked gem at the sight of it, standing in this place. An echo of a memory just out of reach from the room beyond.

A room they… aren’t going into, instead being led up into White’s ship.

“Only Pink Diamond goes beyond this point.”

It takes all of Pearl’s restraint to not grab Steven and just bolt at those words. It’s bad enough when he’s alone with Blue and Yellow. But- but  _ White… _ Her breathing picks up despite herself as Steven reluctantly goes in, shooting a worried glance over his shoulder at her.

And then he’s gone, through the doors and it’s just her and the other pearl.

But she can’t relax like she otherwise might, because this pearl is probably not herself at all.

“You’re doing remarkably well. It took some time, but your defects turned out useful after all.”

“ _ -might as well make something useful out of her defects. She might be just what Pink needs. _ ”

White Diamond’s voice plays in her head, and she shuts her eyes tight. As useful as it might be, she  _ does not  _ want to remember her time with White. 

“ _ I- of course my Diamond. But you know how destructive Pink is…” _

_ “Well, if she breaks this one, at least it’s just a defect. But she’s resilient. I think she can handle Pink, and keep her on task.” _

“Well, that is why I was transferred in the first place.” She manages to respond through clenched teeth. “I’m very lucky to be in my position. It’s an honor, to be able to serve Steven.”

“Mm. With Pink’s current state, we’d have to send her to the Human Zoo if you weren’t here. You seem well acquainted with the parental bonds of that species. I’m putting quite a bit of faith in you to make sure Pink turns out better behaved this time than she was before. I suppose that’s an upside organics have; being able to change and be molded so easily…”

This conversation is making Pearl’s head spin, and she’s torn between wanting to just… poof her and hoping it frees her from White Diamond’s control, and just turning to run because this conversation is  _ painful _ . It’s a stabbing feeling in her stomach to hear her describe it that way, like Steven is just a puppet of hers to be controlled like her pearl is in saying any of this.

She can’t do either of those though. She has to stand here and  _ deal with it _ .

It’s interesting though, that White doesn’t even seem to be trying to hide that she’s in control, and Pearl reopens her eyes, staring at her quietly for a long moment.

“… I hope I don’t disappoint. I’ve always served to the very best of my ability.”

“Yes, you have. The best of your ability hasn’t always been  _ enough _ , but I do think placing you with Pink was the right decision.”

She’s well aware that she’s not good enough. She could do without the reminder though.

She needs to find some way to rescue this pearl from White…  _ Discreetly _ . She has no idea how she could, but she has to find a way. She can’t just leave her like this, with no control of herself…

Right now she can’t afford to be thinking about that. Steven is alone with the  _ actual _ White Diamond, and not just someone under her control.

“You can relax. He’s not going to be harmed.”

“Pardon me for not feeling safe in the vicinity of White Diamond.” The words slip out before she considers them, and she winces, smacking her hand over her mouth, and looking away, her face very blue and she wants to scream.

“… Oh? Do you remember then? That’s curious.”

Her other hand trails up to lightly sit over her gem, and she closes her eyes, exhaling slowly through her nose, trying to stay calm. After a moment, she drops both hands, and reopens her eyes, staring at the floor.

“Not much, but I remember  _ enough _ .” She says softly. “Apologies for speaking out of turn.”

“No, it’s good. Being afraid means you still know your place, despite all of Pink’s silly rebellion stuff.” She pauses “It could end up being useful even. You could double as a basic guard with as much combat experience she forced you into. Better than a Ruby Squad, from what I understand. Maybe even better than the average Quartz.”

There’s no good response to that. She can’t refuse, but agreeing might be a trap, so she just ends up staring and just blinking slowly.

“… Nothing to say?”

“… I- If that’s what’s asked of me, I’m willing to do it. I live only to serve.”

“Mm. I can practically see the thoughts in that mind of yours. You’ve always been this way, trying so hard to be exactly what’s wanted of you, even if it doesn't come  _ naturally _ . You’re very right, saying you’re  _ lucky _ earlier. But at least you know how to follow orders.” 

_ Follow orders _ . White isn’t as smart as she thinks she is. Pearl has no intention of following orders. She intends to cause all kinds of trouble.

But for now she has to pretend, and let White Diamond believe all that. Because if she believes that, she doesn’t suspect a thing.

Silence falls between them, and Pearl silently stares at the floor, and she can feel the one eyed gaze of the other pearl fixed on her the whole time.

It’s only a few more minutes before Steven exits, and  _ White Pearl _ insists on escorting them all the way back to Steven’s room, and it’s very uncomfortably silent until she leaves them, and Pearl sighs in relief, immediately crouching in front of Steven, looking him oer to make sure he’s unharmed, then pulls him into a tight hug.

“Woah- hey- hey, Pearl? Is everything okay?”

“Did she hurt you at all?”

“Uh- n-nnno? She wouldn’t let me say anything and kept calling me  _ Starlight _ , but she didn’t hurt me. Did you expect her too?”

“No, no, I just. I worry, is all. Sorry.”

“… She  _ was  _ kinda scary. Like  _ her  _ Pearl, but  _ more  _ scary.” He hugs her back after a moment. “The thing you were doing to get us home, how long is it gonna take?”

“… I don’t know, Steven. It might be a while. We have to be very careful, because it could get us in a lot of trouble.”

“Right, right. I know. I just… I miss Dad.”

Pearl closes her eyes, trying not to start crying at that, and hugs him a little tighter. “I know. I want to go home too Steven, but it’s  _ complicated _ . I’ll get you back there, I promise, but you have to be patient.”

“Can I at least see Garnet and Amethyst soon?”

“… I’ll see what I can do.”

It was a few days before she could see Mole again, sharing a whispered conversation about it, updating her on White Diamond’s attitude towards her, and getting information from her about what’s going on outside of the Diamond palace.

And then she brings up Garnet and Amethyst, and she rapidly shakes her head.

“ _ No _ , no no no. Are you  _ crazy _ ? Rebel, Rebel, I’m sure you miss your friends, but they’re wanted fugitives-”

“It’s not for me, Mole.” She cuts her off softly. “It’s for Steven. He’s just a little kid, and he’s  _ Homesick _ . It’s going to be a long time yet before we can return to Earth, but I’m worried about his well being. I’m doing everything I can… but this isn’t good for a kid his age. Seeing them might help…”

“… Can you  _ bring him _ down to a meeting?”

“… I’d have to make him take a nap earlier so he’s not on the verge of falling asleep, but yes.”

“Alright. Shop won’t like it, having a Diamond in our midsts, but it should work out. Might be good anyway, since she was going to bring Obsidian today.” Mole pauses. “Shop’s  _ ‘owner _ ’ is a Rainbow Obsidian, and she’s on our side. Doesn’t really want to fight, but she’s willing to cover for us, and lets Shop do whatever she wants. And she used to be in Pink’s court, so she may be transferred back eventually.” 

“… That’s good to know.”

Steven isn’t happy about taking a nap at first, but he practically rushes into bed when she tells him it’s so he can go see Garnet and Amethyst tonight.

She tries not to be hurt by that. She knows Steven loves her, but she also knows she’s just flatly not enough for him.

It’s fine. It’s not new information.

That night, she gently wakes him, and he’s only groggy for a moment before jumping up in excitement.

“Shh, shh. Steven, we’re being sneaky. You need to keep your voice down.”

“Ohhh,” He lowers his voice to whisper. “Sneaky time.”

She’s extra careful getting Steven down there, since she’s not going to have him just jump down the way she does, so it takes a lot longer to get there, but they do, and she gently guides Steven into the room, and he’s looking around excitedly. 

“Sorry for the delay.” She says softly, before looking around the room herself, and locking gazes with  _ Garnet _ , who has her visor off, and she freezes, tears welling up in her eyes and she launches herself forward into Garnet’s arms as she starts absolutely  _ sobbing _ , clinging to her.

As much as she’s desperately tried to keep her composure around Steven, it’s something else to actually  _ see _ Garnet there. And just a second later Steven is crying too and they’re on the floor and Steven hugging Garnet too, and Amethyst throws her arms around all of them.

They stay like that for a few minutes, and they’re all basically still in Garnet’s lap even as the hug falls apart, and Pearl is still sniffling and crying quietly as Steven chatters excitedly to the two of them.

“Pearl?” Garnet says quietly after a moment, which… gets a frustrated sigh from Shopkeep, and a snicker from Joy.

“… Best call me Rebel for the time being, Garnet.” She chuckles quietly, wiping at her eyes. “There are four  _ Pearls _ in this room, after all.”

“… Right. But, uh, seems like there’s some things you never told us?”

“She can’t.” Mole says quietly, leaning against the wall. “Silence order. Far as I can tell she can’t even refer to Pink Diamond directly at all.”

Pearl nods slightly to confirm that, and Garnet exhales slowly, closing her eyes. 

“Do we got a plan, P?” Amethyst asks, leaning forward towards her slightly. “Because I feel pretty stuck right now.”

“The plan is revolution!” Joy shouts, jumping to her feet. “I mean, like, eventually.”

“Joy calm down, we still need more people long before we try actually fighting.” Pearl pauses. “Though, yes, that’s really the end plan. They’re the ones who made the mistake of dragging us Crystal Gems to their doorstep.” 

“Yeah, and from the looks of it you’re forming a pearl army. I just hope they aren’t as big of nerds as you are.”

“Well, it just makes sense.” 

“Mmhm! What other gem has  _ ample _ reason to fight, and also access to the highest levels of gem society. Pearls are uniquely positioned.” Mole pauses. “Shop, wasn’t Obsidian coming?”

“She’s late.”

“Yeah,  _ obviously _ …”

“She’s not coming.” Garnet says quickly, getting to her feet. “Pearl, get Steven out of here.”

“Garnet-?”

“ _ Go _ .”

Pearl knows better than to argue with the future seer, and just nods quickly, and picks up Steven to bolt out of there, and the others quickly scatter too, being well acquainted with the value of future sight just from the information Mole can get from Pink Sapphire.


	8. Chapter 7: Brightside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visitor comes to Pink Diamond's room in the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER IS LATE AND I'M SORRY!

Pearl is sitting under Pink Diamond’s desk, her knees pulled up to her chest, and her head down, too stressed to even cry. She’s been here a couple hours. Ever since she got Steven back to sleep, which was not easy. He was _hysterical_ , given their hurried exit...

Garnet wouldn’t have so urgently told them to leave if something wasn’t coming down on them  _ then _ . Did everyone get away? What even got them  _ caught _ ?

Was it her? She was as careful as she could be, but Steven inherently draws notice. Maybe there was a sensor she missed? An alarm she didn’t know she raised… 

…Maybe someone came here while they were gone.

Did she get her friends recaptured? They were safe, in bubbles. And now for all she knows they’re on their way to  _ execution _ .

That could be her fault- oh, she should have just listened to Mole. Steven would have been fine to wait a little longer. It- it could have been fine, but  _ instead… _

“… Now that’s a face I haven’t seen in quite a long time.”

Pearl jumps to her feet, her hand at her gem, ready to pull her spear in an instant, before that rather melancholy voice being another pearl registers, and she blinks dazed at the other pearl, with light pink skin, dark pink-purple hair in waves down to her chin, and bright Pink eyes.

And after a half second more she recognizes her, at least in a vague way. They never properly  _ met,  _ but have been in the vicinity of one another before… 

“You… you were with that one Kunzite? The one who blanked her own gem code by accident?”

“… mmhm.” She closes her eyes, ducking her head for a moment, before looking back at Pearl. “It was a long time ago though. That’d be like me saying to you,  _ hey you were with White Diamond- _ ”

“Ah!-” Pearl looks around quickly to make sure no one  _ else _ is here. “Speaking of White, do you have  _ any  _ idea how  _ dangerous  _ it is for you to be here?”

“… Everywhere is dangerous for a pearl with no owner,” She says softly, her gaze downcast again. “And Ruby guards were swarming where I normally hide out… And… well, I saw  _ you  _ tearing by with the new _ Pink Diamond _ in your arms. I was…  _ curious  _ if you knew what was going on, since… I… definitely… don’t.”

“No-” Pearl shakes her head quickly. “I mean White Diamond  _ checks on us _ here spontaneously, through her pearl that she controls. If you’re seen here, it’s  _ both _ of our gems on the line.” She takes a deep breath. “As for what that  _ was _ , I can only speculate. I was warned by a future seer to return here before being caught.”

“Got a sapphire friend then?”

“Uh, yes, though she was actually fus…” Pearl trails off. “Hm, perhaps this is a good thing, that you’re here, despite how risky this is.”

A  _ Pearl with no owner _ could be a valuable resource. She can move freer than any of them, so if she’d be willing… 

“ _ What _ ? _ ” _ She shakes her head slowly. “I swear, if you’re about to ask me for a favor-”

“I’m asking for  _ far _ more than a favor.  _ You _ are a pearl with no owner. And I was down there because a few other pearls and I are planning to take the revolution home. It’s nice to properly meet you, I’m Rebel.” She forces a smile. “Also known as the terrifying renegade.”

“Oh,” The other pearl blinks a few times, crossing her arms. “Now  _ that’s  _ a twist. So, ah,  _ Rebel _ , let me get this straight; you’re asking me to join your revolution? You said there’s a few other pearls already? How many are we talking? What are our odds here? I’m with you that this system needs to fall, but I’ve spent the last six thousand years just trying to  _ survive _ . I don’t want to take any big risks.”

“… What are our odds?” Pearl echos quietly… 

She still doesn’t know what just  _ happened _ down there, or how safe they are, or who got away and who maybe  _ didn’t _ … but she has to at least project optimism, even as she wants to just…  _ scream _ .

“There are five of us currently. Five pearls, that is. Myself, Mole, Joy, Shopkeep, and  _ Sketch _ , who notably is with  _ Blue Diamond _ . Beyond that…” She forces a smile again. Showing how worried she is won’t convince any one.

Ah, this was why Rose was  _ so important _ in the Rebellion on Earth. She had all the charisma Pearl lacks. She could get anyone to listen to her… 

Pearl just has to do her best.

“We also supposedly have a Rainbow Obsidian- Shopkeep’s  _ owner _ \- and Steven is on our side, though he’s very young so what he can do is  _ limited _ .  _ And _ we have Garnet- a fusion of a Ruby and Sapphire- who fought with me in the war on Earth. And an Amethyst from Earth as well. I would say even if the odds  _ are  _ against us, it’s more than worth the risk. Because the more gems that  _ take _ that risk, the more the odds shift in our favor.” Pearl offers her a hand. “ _ Unless _ you want to be on the run for the rest of your existence.”

She sighs softly, closing her eyes. “Diamonds kill me on the spot…” She mumbles, then takes Pearl’s hand, firmly squeezing it once, before pulling back and stepping away. “Fine, alright. I must be crazy for agreeing to this, but  _ alright _ . … Call me Bright. Kunzite used to call me that all the time.  _ Bright Eyes _ , she’d say.”  _ Bright _ quickly wipes at her eyes, almost in tears.

“… _ Reckless fool _ … You would know how that goes though, huh? Having had to deal with Pink Diamond’s antics?”

Pearl blinks a few times, then smiles sadly. “She was a  _ nightmare _ sometimes, right up to the last moment. It’s not the same with Steven; he’s just  _ young _ .”

“… I’ve heard  _ rumors _ , that he’s a half organic hybrid. Is that true? How is that  _ possible _ ?”

“Oh, it’s  _ true _ . And… shapeshifting… the requisite anatomy, from what I understand, then giving her gem to him at his birth.”

“ _ Fascinating _ .” Bright leans forward on the balls of her feet, her voice more upbeat than it had been this whole conversation. “Have any sort of testing or even just  _ observing _ of the properties of his form been done? It must be unique.”

Pearl can’t help a more  _ genuine smile _ at the sudden flip in mood. “Oh, I would  _ love _ to have a scientific discussion about it, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know if it’s worth the extra risk of you staying  _ here _ much longer.  _ Remember _ , White Diamond?”

“… Oh.” She looks down at her pink-purple shoes, fidgeting with the edge of her skirt. “Forgot for a moment there. Sorry. What am I supposed to  _ do _ though, if I’m joining your little uprising?”

“… Well, there are two- well three but two are fused- other gems around with no place in the hierarchy to pretend to be. My advice is start with  _ finding them _ .”

“… So find this Garnet and Amethyst? … Alright. I can do that. … See you around then, Rebel.” She pauses. “And try to keep your chin up. Hiding under a desk like you’re on the verge of a breakdown isn’t becoming of the leader of a revolution.”

Pearl winces, staring at the floor. She’s still  _ worried _ , and hopes she’s not sending Bright into a situation that’s just going to get her caught. She’s operating on  _ no _ information. Of course she’s a little anxious over it. That’s a perfectly reasonable reaction.

But Bright is  _ right _ . She can’t get stuck in that if she wants to get anything done. As careful as she tries to be, rebellion is all about  _ risk _ . And she has to be willing to take them. 

“… Suppose you’re telling me to look on the  _ Bright _ side then?” Pearl cracks a smile, biting back a laugh… but it gets a soft one from Bright, who turns back around and smiles at her.

“I’m hardly a pillar of optimism, but if thinking of my pretty face gets your through the day, I’ll gladly be your inspiration.” She curtsies, then giggles slightly before darting out of sight.

She has to take risks and be optimistic. That’s how they win this thing… 

Taking a deep breath, she goes back out to the main room, sitting down on the edge of Steven’s bed, where he’s thankfully sound asleep. She needs to stay optimistic for  _ him _ if nothing else.

She’s only there a few minutes before someone else enters the room.

She looks over at Sketch warily, not sure whether to expect Blue Diamond behind her.

“You and Pink Diamond’s presence has been requested by my Diamond.”

“… Do you know why?”

She shakes her head slowly. “You need to be very careful though. Yellow Diamond is there as well. Something is happening, and whatever it was bypassed me.”

“… Well, I was just nearly caught meeting up with our  _ friends _ . We only got away because we have a future seer on our side.”

“… Your Sapphire friend? From Earth? That’s… not good, Rebel. What if you were caught, and that’s why-”

Pearl shakes her head. “She would have warned me if returning here was a trap.” She stands up and smiles slightly. “In better news, we have a new recruit. A pearl who has no owner. She’s been evading capture for thousands of years. Goes by Bright.”

“… Huh.” Sketch stares at the floor. “I just- is this too risky? Maybe we need to wait, and I don’t know, plan it out more?”

“It’s an uprising, Sketch. No amount of planning can eliminate risk.” Pearl picks up Steven, which gets sleepy noises of protest from him.

“… sorry Steven, Blue and Yellow Diamond want to see us.”

“But it’s sleepy time…” He nuzzles his face into her shoulder, half yawning. “Why can they wait until like, its daytime…”

“I don’t know, Steven, but we really shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

“Do I have to get dressed?”

“… no, no, your pajamas should be fine.”

They might even help sell that the two of them can’t have been involved, since Steven needs to sleep through the night…

“… you can back out now, if you want Sketch. There wouldn’t be any hard feelings for it. This is terrifying, so I can unde-”

“No!” She says quickly, her voice raised slightly, before she quickly lowers it again. “ _ No _ , I’m with you to the end. Dangerous or not. This- All this needs to  _ fall… _ and you need to go home.”

“‘re we in trouble…?” Steven mumbles into her shoulder, and Pearl adjusts her grip on him slightly as they start to walk to Blue and Yellow Diamond.

“You could run?” Sketch says softly. “Disappear, find your friends and fight from there. I- I can do the sneaky stuff with Diamond access. Claim you two weren’t there… ?”

“No,” Pearl shakes her head. “We both need to be here. I have more leeway to sneak away because Steven sleeps-”

“Steven would love to be sleeping.” He says yawning and hooking his arms around her neck. “You didn’t answer me…”

“I don’t know if we’re in trouble, Steven.” She sighs slightly, then focuses back on Sketch. “I can sneak away to talk to others outside of our little circle without watching eyes-”

“And I can’t. I suppose you’re right…” She sighs. “I don’t like this though. You’re at so much more risk than me. They  _ trust _ me, but they don’t trust you.”

“That’s why we  _ both  _ need to be here, Sketch. You’re trusted, and I can get away. Neither of us are enough to do this part.” She gives Sketch a faint smile. “We’re a  _ team _ . We’re in this together, no matter what.”

Sketch smiles back. “No matter what.” She echos softly, before stopping walking. “But…” She brushes her hair out of her eyes to look seriously at Pearl. “If it turns out they’re going to shatter you,  _ run _ . Run with him. We’ll figure  _ something  _ out, but you need to stay  _ alive, _ in one piece.”

“Of course.” She responds immediately. “I wouldn’t let them get me so easily. But lets hope it doesn’t come to  _ that _ . It would be very inconvenient.” 

“ _ Inconvenient _ .” Sketch laughs quietly, then starts walking again. “I wish I could be that positive, honestly…”

Steven is asleep again in her arms by the time they reach Blue Diamond’s room, where Yellow Diamond’s Pearl is standing outside, and Sketch pauses for a moment, before opening the door, and curtsying.

“I’ve brought them, my Diamond.”

“Good. Wait outside.”

“Of course, My Diamond.” She steps back, and gestures Pearl forward.

She  _ hopes _ everything is fine… Hoping is all she can do, as she walks in, the doors closing behind her.


	9. Chapter 8: Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Steven have a late night chat with Blue and Yellow Diamond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD sorry sorry sorry! I missed a week and this one is super late for this week, but Real Life was hectic for a bit with college stuff and fathers day, and my birthday. But I finally got this done. I'm am going to TRY to get back to posting every Tuesday Night/Wednesday morning, but no promises.

The silence is palpable as Pearl stands there under the cold gazes of both Blue and Yellow Diamond, and she instinctively clutches the sleeping Steven tighter.

“Why are you  _ carrying him _ ?” Yellow sneers, crossing her arms.

“Ah, apologies, Yellow Diamond, your lustrousness, but I must remind you that as a human hybrid, Steven needs to sleep, and usually does so while it’s dark outside. He was asleep when you summoned us, and was in no state to walk immediately upon waking.” She pauses. “And has fallen back asleep.”

“He was awake around this time to call me about a  _ ukelele _ before, so why is tonight any different?”

Pearl’s voice fails her, and she blinks several times, struggling to even think of something to say if she  _ could _ speak.

“I had a nightmare that night,” Steven mumbles sleepily, twisting around in Pearl’s arms to look over his shoulder at the Diamonds.

“A  _ Nightmare _ ?” Yellow Diamond echos, a scowl etched on her face. “What is  _ that _ ? What does it have to do with anything?”

“Pearl,” Steven gently taps Pearl’s arm. “I’m- I’m awake. Ish. Please put me down.”

Pearl hesitates for a second, but she does, quickly crossing her arms behind her back to hide how much her hands are shaking.  _ Stay positive Pearl.  _ She has to stay positive. Panicking will end all of this prematurely.

She doesn’t have Rose to cover for her. The social stuff… the lying, the  _ leading _ … that was all Rose. Pearl just… kept doing her job. Running things behind the scenes while Rose did all the actual  _ leading _ . Organization and planning doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t talk to people to execute it. She planned, Rose talked.

They were a  _ team _ . And now she has to do it on her own.

“It’s a bad dream. Dreams are like, weird stories your mind makes up while sleeping, and nightmares are dreams so scary they can wake you up.” Steven answers her question, and Pearl’s gaze snaps to him.

He’s…  _ lying _ to them. Actually lying. Not just staying quiet and not contradicting her. He’s  _ lying _ . And if she didn’t know that, she wouldn’t guess it. Maybe it’s just because he’s sleepy and that’s colouring his tone more than lying does… or maybe he’s better at this than she thought he would be… 

He’s little… so,  _ so _ young… but maybe she’s not so alone up here. It’s not the same, but… she’s not  _ alone _ . Steven’s here for  _ her _ just as much as she’s trying to be for him.

“And when a dream is  _ so _ scary you wake up, you don’t wanna go back to sleep. So- So I called you cause I wanted to try to stay up, and I  _ was _ really excited and I wanted to think about happy things.”

Yellow Diamond narrows her eyes. “And you’re  _ absolutely sure _ your pearl didn’t wake you?”

Pearl has to hold herself  _ very _ still to not react. She  _ does not _ like where this is going. Something about what happened tonight brought suspicion back to that night. Were- Were Garnet and Amethyst-

_ No _ , no. She can’t let herself start to dwell on that. She needs to stay  _ calm _ .

“Of course she didn’t! Why would she!?”

“It’s just… interesting timing, the day that Blue’s pearl-” Yellow Diamond gestures at Blue, who stands up a little straighter, staring down seriously. “Looked up some  _ information _ that she had no reason to need, and then  _ that night _ …”

_ Sketch _ \- No- no- She’s going to get into trouble for-

“I was the one who wanted to know where Garnet and Amethyst were.” Steven takes a step backward, and grabs Pearl’s hand. “ _ They _ shouldn’t get in trouble because I wanted to know where my family was.”

…She’s going to have to thank him for this later. She never knew he could think this quickly on his feet. She was failing to, in this moment, still not able to say  _ anything _ , her voice failing her.

She doesn’t know what she  _ would _ say if she could though.

“… You asked for that?”

“Yeah! And you guys wouldn’t let her look it up, so! So I asked Pearl to ask!” He finishes with a yawn, and leans into Pearl’s side. “Can I go back to bed though? I’m really tired…”

“… In a moment.” Blue Diamond says after a moment of silence. “For now go wait in the hall. We need to speak to your pearl  _ alone _ .”

Steven groans, and makes a big show of dragging his feet and sighing on his way out, and Pearl has to fight back a giggle at the theatrics. 

But the urge to laugh dies quickly once he’s gone, and she’s left under the piercing gazes of the two Diamonds.

“ _ So _ , you had my pearl look up information on the traitors at the request of your Diamond.” 

It’s more of a statement than a question, but Pearl still quietly answers “ _ Yes,” _ her gaze downcast. “I didn’t tell him they were to be shattered and harvested shortly. I knew he wouldn’t take it well, so I just told him they were on a different part of the planet, and that they couldn’t come here.”

“They  _ weren’t _ .”

Pearl’s gaze snaps up to Yellow. She knows that, of course, but she didn’t expect it to be  _ told _ to her so readily. Did they want to see her reaction? She can’t give anything away.

“… They… They weren’t? I-” She takes a deep breath and looks down again. “I’m surprised. I would have thought you eager to snuff out those last traces of the rebellion.”

That should do it. Firmly place herself on  _ the Diamonds _ side, and just… frame it as  _ surprise _ . She can do this. Alone in here or not, she can do this. She  _ has _ to.

“Oh, we  _ were _ ,” Yellow Diamond growls. “But that  _ very night _ , almost exactly at the time your Diamond called me, there was a  _ jailbreak _ . And all the sensors were down. I  _ wonder  _ who could have done that.”

The accusatory tone is almost funny, because she… Didn’t. When she left that night she expected to have to work around the sensors. Until she gets that unlocked Screen from Shopkeep, she can’t affect those  _ at all _ .

Yet here Yellow Diamond is accusing  _ her _ .

“That  _ is  _ odd timing,” She says softly. “But I’m not sure what you’re trying to imply. Do you mean to say you think somehow  _ I _ did that?” She looks up to Yellow, her eyes wide. “How could I have?”

“You couldn’t.” Blue says quickly, shooting a glare at Yellow. “But we  _ need _ to know if you know anything. A noble in Yellow’s court believes  _ her _ pearl might have been responsible. Says she was missing that night.”

_ Joy _ . That… doesn’t bode well. Hopefully she’s okay.  _ Stay positive _ though. Be… joyful. Optimism is how she survives this.

“No, your Brilliance. I don’t, I’m sorry. But Sapphire is quite an adept future seer, so if they’re free, I imagine they’ll be quite difficult to recapture.”

“And the Amethyst? We have no data on her.”

“… She emerged late from the Prime Kindergarten on Earth. Largely an ordinary Quartz, just shorter in stature than what is standard. Particularly adept at shapeshifting.”

She’s less than thrilled to be giving information on her friends like this, but minor bits of honest information here can build  _ trust _ . And she  _ needs _ trust. She’s sure Amethyst won’t mind.

“Shapeshifting, hm. We’ll have to watch out for that then. Very well. You’re dismissed.”

Pearl doesn’t hesitate, twirling around and practically sprinting for the door to Steven in the hallway, where he’s sitting and staring up at Sketch as she draws him.

“Back to bed with you!” Pearl quickly picks him up and flashes a smile at Sketch, not  _ saying _ anything, all too aware of listening ears in the room behind her, and takes off back towards Steven’s room.

Sitting him down on his bed, she sits next to him and exhales heavily, staring up at the ceiling.

“… That was pretty impressive in there, Steven. Thank you.”

“Well- I knew you’d get in more trouble than me. And, and, uhm, like, I knew they’re bad people no matter how nice they act to me, so I don’t want to know what  _ trouble _ would look like. I- I’m really scared, and if I can help, I wanna!”

“I know, I know you do, and I appreciate that-”

“I know I’m just a kid, but I  _ can _ help! You don’t have to do this all by yourself!!”

“I  _ know _ .” Pearl laughs slightly, pulling Steven onto her lap. “I know that, Steven. And I appreciate that. I’m going to try to figure out ways your can help, and I- I’ll tell you as much as I can, about what’s going on, in case you have to lie like that again.”

“Play pretend, you mean?” Steven giggles. “Play pretend that I’m a perfect Prince and you’re my servant.”

“Yes,” She muffles further laughter into her hand. “Play pretend.”

She doesn’t like how fast he’s having to grow up, going through all this. But… it’s better he grow up fast and they all  _ survive _ to go back home than not.


	10. Chapter 9: Joyous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A friend drops in for a surprise visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to get back to posting every week I said lmao. I was focusing on my first week back to school, sorry!

Pearl is very aware that she’s under close scrutiny, but she doesn’t really know what to do about it. She doesn’t dare sneak out again. 

Not until she knows what happened that night, now several weeks out. It’s beyond worrying that she hasn’t heard anything yet, and she’s spent a few nights after Steven goes to sleepy absolutely panicked about it all, despite her best attempts to stay positive.

“Peeeeearl,” Steven falls backwards across her lap, staring up at her upside down, and she smiles faintly, brushing her screen aside.

“Pearl I’m bored. We’ve barely been allowed to leave this room for like forever! When are we like, gonna do something?”

“Like what exactly?”

Pearl instinctively pulls Steven very close, wrapping her arms around him protectively at that voice, and her eyes jump to White Diamond’s Pearl in the doorway.

After a second processing, she forces herself to relax and let go of Steven, though he stays in her lap. 

Steven follows her gaze, blinking a few times and grabbing a hold of Pearl’s overshirt, twisting the fabric in his hand even as he smiles brightly.

“Oh hiya! And I dunno! Just something fun. I’m really super bored!”

“Do you not have enough to keep you entertained here?”

“Yeah but I’ve barely left here for like, like a month! Or something. I kinda lost track…” He glances at Pearl, clearly hoping she has the answer.

“…three weeks and two days, Steven. It’s been three weeks and two days, in Earth time.” She provides softly, not taking her eyes off the other pearl.

She’s glad that they weren’t interrupted a moment later, lest whatever Steven was about to say got them in trouble… 

“Oh, you’re so much like Pink.” She slides over, and mechanically pats the top of Steven’s head, and Pearl bristles uncomfortably, not liking being so  _ close _ to her, and she just barely resists the instinct to hug Steven close again. “Why don’t you just do what she used to do for  _ fun _ .”

“… What  _ did  _ Mom used to do?” Steven looks back at Pearl, tilting his head to the side. 

“Oh, well, when she wasn’t with the other Diamonds, she would play with Spinel, or the pebbles, and we-, ah, uh,  _ she’d  _ plan these elaborate balls…”

“Who’s Spinel?” Steven turns to be facing her properly, grinning.

“Oh, she was…” Pearl pauses.

Where even  _ is _ Spinel? The last time Pearl ever saw her was several days before they went out to Earth the first time… She glances at White’s Pearl, who just looks back at her with that fixed smile.

“… She was a friend of your mother’s. The two would play all sorts of games. And pranks. They really liked pulling pranks. On anyone and everyone.”

“That sounds fun. I wish I had a friend here. I- I mean, you’re  _ great _ Pearl, but-”

“I know what you mean, Steven.” He needs to get  _ home _ . This must be so lonely for him here, to have no other kids around. This is so  _ difficult _ . But she can’t say anything about it with the other pearl here.

Movement in the doorway catches Pearl’s gaze and she just sees a flash of yellow as someone moves out of sight.

She quickly forces her eyes back to Steven, hoping that no one  _ else _ noticed that. A hope that’s quickly dashed as White’s pearl follows her gaze over there, but… there’s nothing to see there now.

“Where is that Spinel?” She asks, looking back to Pearl and Steven. “If  _ Steven _ is feeling bored, that would be the apt solution.”

“I… don’t know. I haven’t seen her since before going to the Earth for the colony. I was under the impression she was left here, to be entirely honest. Was she not?”

“No. She wasn’t.”

“Odd…” Pearl keeps watch on the door frame out of the corner of her eye, but is careful to not look directly at it again, lest she risk getting whoever is hiding there caught. 

“So, uh, can we go out and do something?”

“No.”

“Awwww, but…”

Pearl’s not really paying attention to what either of them are saying at this point, just pretending to watch Steven while all her focus is trained on the entrance of the room, where she sees…  _ Joy _ peek into the room from the corner of her eye.

Well, at least she’s  _ alive _ , but this is quite definitively not a good time.

Joy waves her dagger, and gestures at White’s Pearl’s back with it, her head tilted to the side, seeming to try to ask a silent question.

What is she trying to say? How does she expect Pearl to answer?

“-you listening?  _ Pearl _ . Pay attention.”

The harshness to the tone makes Pearl go very still, and she holds her breath as her gaze focuses back on White’s Pearl, trying to brush of the ghosts of memories she doesn’t have that came up at that.

She does not want to remember what makes her feel like  _ this _ in response to just White’s voice being a little harsh.

“I am very sorry. What were you saying?”

She doesn’t answer, looking around the room suspiciously, but Joy clearly knew better than to stay in sight, gone from view again.

“She wanted to know if you remember enough about the balls to help me plan one? She thinks it’d be a good way to  _ properly introduce _ me to homeworld or something.”

“Yes that’s what I said…” She glides back towards the entrance, peering out into the hall.

Pearl puts a hand on Steven’s shoulder, watching her silently, terrified that Joy is about to be caught, but… she turns back around, seeming satisfied that no one is there… and Joy drops down directly behind her, gesturing with the dagger again, twirling her free hand and leaning forward on her toes.

_ Wait _ , is she trying to ask whether or not she should-

Oh, that could be dangerous.  _ Very _ dangerous. But it might work. It might  _ free _ her. It might not; Pearl has  _ no idea _ how this control White has works. But it  _ might _ . And White would well see that it’s not Pearl who did it this way. She can even say it was another Pearl, given that she already knows suspicions were on Joy, so Joy is probably already on the run… 

They would only have a minute or so leeway though, before Pearl would be expected to  _ call someone _ about that, so she wouldn’t have long to talk to Joy. 

Steven’s grip on Pearl’s shirt tightens as he sees Joy there, and his smile slips.

“Yes,” Pearl says quickly, trying to lock gazes with Joy, who nods. “I remember plenty about the balls. That sounds like a wonderful idea, really, to introduce Steven to Homeworld as the new…” She trails off, unable to actually finish that sentence.

She should give a  _ warning _ , a second too late. Soon enough that White knows she did, but too late to stop Joy. That could cement her supposed innocence here…

She jumps to her feet, putting on her best  _ alarmed _ expression, and Joy grins at her.

“Behind you!” Pearl gasps, and she starts to spin around just as Joy’s dagger passes through her torso… and  _ poof _ . She’s gone, the soft pink pearl clattering to the floor.

“Ohhhh gosh,” Steven hides his face in Pearl’s legs. “That’s still really scary…”

“Hey, hey, she’s okay Steven, she’s okay.” Pearl ruffles his hair, then darts over, scooping the gem up and bubbling it. She’s not going to risk her reforming  _ here _ and still possibly being under the control of White, though her  _ gem _ returning to the pink color is… reassuring.

“ _ Alright _ , we don’t have much time to talk, because it’s going to look suspicious if I don’t call someone immediately about that, so let’s make this quick.  _ What happened that night _ ? Are Garnet and Amethyst okay? Did everyone else get away? Did you meet up with Bright?”

“Was my bad; Heliodor was onto me. I’m a fugitive now. Yeah, they’re fine. We’ve got a base down in the old Kindergartens. Yeah, I was the only one in trouble out of all that. And Yeah! Sure did! That was a surprise! She’s the one who found us that mostly unmonitored spot to hide out. Said you sent her.”

“I certainly did. With  _ her _ out of the way, I’ll be a touch more free to move, so hopefully I can meet up with you down there. Just get the details of where it is to Mole if you haven’t already. Now  _ go _ . And be careful when you release her; we don’t know if she’ll still be under White’s control.”

“Sure thing! See you ‘round Rebel!” She giggles and turns to dart off, leaving her and Steven alone again, and Pearl takes a shaky breath, before going back to her discarded screen, quickly calling Sketch on it, acting as panicked as she can manage, then getting the story straight with Steven in the brief moment between that call and Blue Diamond showing up.

The next several hours are spent telling that story over and over again until Blue Diamond is satisfied that it’s the truth and that she has  _ every detail _ . A yellow pearl dropped from above behind White’s Pearl, pulled a dagger and poofed her, despite Pearl’s attempt at a warning.

It’s a story that would seem to be verified by White’s own account of the events.

Joy getting caught was a bit of a set back, but her position with Heliodor wasn’t so important, and it has definitely ended up working out to get  _ that _ result.

She just hopes she sees Mole sooner than later. They  _ need _ to have proper communication set up, otherwise this is just going to get more and more dangerous. And Pearl was promised an unlocked screen from Shop… 

And if from all of this, they also get a new recruit in that pearl, now free from White… All the better.


	11. Chapter 10: Catching Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Mole catch up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a week late because I just COULD NOT make myself work on it. Gonna try to get the next chapter up tonight too.

The look Mole is giving her would be funny if the situation wasn’t so serious, just staring at Pearl like she claimed she could fly or something equally absurd. 

“You- You not only managed to get us a new recruit,” She hisses, still looking at Pearl with wide eyes. “But you managed to- _ right under White’s nose _ \- work with Joy to get rid of the problem that was her Pearl. All without a whiff of suspicion on you? All while effectively being stuck in just this room? While I was struggling to get any useful information at all from my contacts, or Pinky at that?”

“Oh, well,” Pearl smiles slightly despite herself. “It’s not quite as impressive as you’re implying. Bright found  _ me _ here, and Joy showed up at a very convenient time. Both were really  _ entirely _ out of my control.”

“You still got this Bright to actually join on,  _ and  _ meet up with Joy from what little communication I’ve managed with her since then?  _ And  _ deftly avoid any trouble from  _ any _ of this, despite how precarious your situation is? It’s  _ incredible _ . I had no idea you could pull something off like that.”

“Ah! Honestly, you really are overstating how impressive it was. They had no proof I was involved in any way when  _ Joy _ was caught, and I actually got a bit more trust I believe, for having given some- largely irrelevant- information on my friends. It made it seem like I didn’t have any real loyalty to them. As for the thing with  _ White _ , well…” Pearl chuckles slightly. “White was my very own alibi. I  _ did _ try to warn her after all.”

“… You’re  _ really _ good at this. I really didn’t anticipate you being so good at playing both sides like this.”

“… I’m just doing what I have to in order to make it through this. Though,” She exhales quietly, looking around the room, her gaze passing right over Steven and Pink Sapphire, focused more on the decor; the reminders of who’s room this  _ used _ to be. “… It’s not my first time playing this role you know. I did this in the first war too. Having the trust of your enemies is  _ invaluable _ .”

“Right. So what’s next Rebel? Shop is  _ concerned _ , after Joy was caught. She thinks we need to be extra cautious, but…”

“Caution is important, but if we let ourselves get caught up in  _ fear _ we’ll never get anywhere. And as for  _ what next _ ? Well for one, I do believe Shop promised me a full access screen at some point. I’m still stifled for information here, and it’s a huge risk for Sketch to look things up. Steven can’t cover for us every time. But beyond that… we probably should meet up  _ all together _ to try to plan things out. I don’t even know what Joy’s done with that pearl...”

“… Can you get Sketch’s access codes? Mole has the screen, we just don’t have it cracked yet, but I know a Peridot that’s sympathetic to rebels; if we got those codes the screen could be full access, no trace in just a day or so, with that Peridot’s help.”

“Certainly. Steven has a meeting scheduled with Blue Diamond later today. I can get them from her then.”

“Perfect!” Mole quickly looks over at Pink Sapphire nervously, then back at Pearl, lowering her voice. “I can… probably arrange a meeting with Joy and the others tonight. I think we need a new spot though, after that  _ disaster _ -”

“Joy already has one. Somewhere down in the old Kindergartens. I guess just have her or Bright come  _ get me _ , since we didn’t exactly have time to communicate exactly where it’s at when we spoke.”

“Okay. Okay. That’s the plan then.” Mole nods slightly. “… I’ll admit I was a little spooked too, by nearly being caught like that. It’s the closest call I’ve ever had.”

“I’ve had way closer calls than that.” Pearl laughs quietly. “Try having Blue Diamond walk into the room while in the middle of trying to explain a war strategy.”

“Seriously?”

“She didn’t hear much, so Rose played it off that we were speculating what those  _ horrible traitors _ might be doing. She ended up just scoffing and reprimanded Rose for giving me,  _ just a pearl, _ too much responsibility.”

“Wow,” She laughs. “We really do have a lot of deniability by our position, don’t we? I already knew that, to some extent of course, by the fact that I can pass completely beneath notice in places I have  _ no right _ to be, and be allowed to listen to private conversations, but… I’ve never considered just how far that could  _ go _ . We could- There’s  _ so much _ we could do. And with Steven and Rainbow Obsidian both on our side that gives even more room for deniability… Especially if Steven is so ready to lie to the other Diamonds as you say…”

“Yes, though you have to keep in mind that they don’t trust a word from me. I have some manner of deniability still due to my apparent loyalty, but they  _ do _ know I was the renegade, so I’m very much  _ not trusted _ .”

“But they trust Steven?”

“… Yes. They do.”

“Then I think we should be fine. I suppose I’ll be seeing you tonight?” She flashes a crooked smile to Pearl as she crosses her arms behind her back.

“My Sapphire,” She says, turning her attention away from Pearl and to Steven and Pink Sapphire, where Pink Sapphire was trying to explain how future vision works to him. “You have an appointment with Morganite shortly. We best get going, if you don’t want to be late.”

“Well,  _ she’ll  _ be late, but you have a point.” Pink Sapphire stands up, then curtsies to Steven. “We’ll continue this conversation another day, My Diamond.”

“See ya Pinky!” Steven grins, giggling slightly. “Future vision sounds really cool!”

“Oh it definitely is. I look forward to seeing you again. You’re truly the loveliest Diamond, and I am all too happy to be the first gem back in your court.”

“Oh uh, thanks, but I’m not my mom, remember?”

“Yes, I know.” She turns her head towards the two pearls, and smiles slightly. “Best of luck to you, and your renegade. I imagine you have a lot of fun.” She giggles slightly, then walks out of the room.

“… I- I’m sorry, I don’t know what that was about…” Mole says softly, then darts after Pink Sapphire.

“… Well I’ll be, I think she’s onto us.” Pearl smiles, and laughs slightly. She’s not really worried about it. Pink Sapphire seems  _ nice _ . Mole herself said she was nice, and that she doesn’t ask any questions about Mole’s disappearances, despite her being described as  _ nosey _ .

Pearl wouldn’t be surprised if she’s had some inkling of what’s going on this entire time. Future seers tend to be inscrutable like that.

“…Are we in trouble?”

“No,” Pearl shakes her head. “Not at all. And I have good news! We’re probably going to go see Garnet and Amethyst tonight!”

“Oh!” Steven grins. “That’s great! It’s not gonna go like before where we almost got caught and stuff, right?”

“Not at all. I promise.” Pearl ruffles his hair. “I’m thinking you should probably take a nap though, since it’ll be late.”

Steven giggles and practically runs into bed, diving under his covers, and Pearl follows him over, and tucks him in.

“I’ll wake you when food is brought for you, alright.” She strokes his hair, then bends over, kissing his forehead. “Until then, sleep well.”

“I will!” Steven says, brightly, then closes his eyes tightly. It’ll probably be a bit before he can fall asleep, with how excited he is, but it’s good for him to at least  _ try _ to nap now, so he’s not sleepy later tonight.

Tonight  _ has _ to go better than their last attempt to meet up. 


	12. Chapter 11: Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pearl Squad meets up again

It’s difficult to not get caught up in her memories of this place on quiet nights like this. It’s late, and Steven fell back asleep despite his nap earlier while they wait for Bright or Joy to come get them.

While waiting, Pearl is laying back on the floor and just staring up at the decorative bubbles drifting around on the ceiling. She spent a lot of time just sitting here alone back before the war too, when Pink would just… leave her here. Go off to her Garden or whatever it was that day that she didn’t want Pearl there for. Because Pearl was not fun. Because Pearl reminded her of her responsibilities. 

Sometimes that time was filled just doing Pink’s jobs for her, but other times had this quiet stillness to it like right now. Time to just…  _ think _ .

She thought herself in circles a lot those early days, about whether or not she could  _ trust _ Pink. About whether she was even half as dangerous as Nacre led her to believe she would be.

It’s horrible, to think about the potential happy times she missed out on with Pink, for being over cautious due to Nacre’s warnings. It was all so  _ pointless _ , especially now in retrospect of how finite her life ended up being.

She really does wish she’d let herself love Pink sooner. But Nacre and leftover feelings because of White damaged that.

“You okay?” Joy’s face suddenly comes into view above her, and Pearl jolts upright, scrambling to her feet.

“ _ Stars above Joy _ ,” She laughs faintly, running her fingers through her hair.. “Don’t scare me like that!”

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to! Mole tells me that I’m very quiet. I’ve startled her a fair few times. Including earlier today, though she seemed a little on edge anywho.”

“Pink Sapphire is probably onto us.” Pearl says by way of explanation. “I’m not worried about it. She’s a  _ future seer _ . If she was going to turn us in, she would have done it by now.”

“I always thought she was silly for not just trying to talk to Pinky about it all.  _ Especially _ after Shop did with Obsidian and it worked out well. But she was  _ worried _ .” Joy laughs while shaking her head. “You ready yo go, Rebel?”

“Ah, I need to wake Steven.” Pearl gestures for Joy to wait a moment as she goes over to Steven’s bed, and gently shakes him awake, and picks him up, pulling him onto her back to carry him.

“Alright. We’re ready to go.”

Joy giggles and darts forward to grab her hand and pull them out of the room. It take a bit of careful navigating to safely get all the way down to the old Kindergartens with Steven, but they  _ do _ get there, and Joy leads them through a hidden tunnel that she’s careful to cover back up after they enter.

The cave they’re lead into is actually pretty cozy, with dim lights hanging from the wall and bits of fabric draped between them, and pillows strewn all over the floor. 

Amethyst is laying across some of those pillows and Garnet is sitting next to her, and Bright is trying to build a shelf on the other side of the cave with Shop, and Mole is leaning back against a wall, just surveying the room.

“You decorated.” Pearl remarks, which gets a faint smile from Bright, who looks over at her.

“Joy insisted. I’m also fairly sure she stole this stuff.”

“She didn’t get it from me.” Shop adds, and Joy muffles giggles into her hands behind Pearl.

Pearl rolls her eyes, and sits Steven down, who immediately runs over to Garnet and Amethyst, jumping into Garnet’s lap.

Shop gives up on the shelf for now, and walks over to Pearl, stopping right in front of her with her arms crossed behind her back.

“I was told you could get me Diamond level access codes?”

Pearl smiles, and rattles them off, having got the codes from Sketch earlier this evening, which gets a grin from Shop, something that’s rare from what Pearl’s seen of her.

“You’re  _ fantastic _ ! You have no idea how many locked screens I have that I can get opened up, full access with those. Not only for you, but just,  _ oh Diamonds _ , I have dozens of screens; the resources I could get in exchange for those unlocked… Tell, uh, Sketch that I’m grateful.” She ducks her head and takes a step backward, but she’s still clearly smiling.

“I just want one for myself honestly, but I’m happy to be a messenger, I suppose. I wish we could get Sketch down here, but Blue Diamond would  _ definitely _ notice her missing.”

“A Pearl with  _ Blue Diamond _ is too valuable to risk. She’s most useful where she is.” Mole says softly. “I would love to meet her, but it’s just not feasible.  _ This _ is risky enough…”

“I’m still shocked that we’re  _ doing this _ .” Bright says, not looking away from the half built shelf, continuing to work on it even as Shop stopped. “Glad, but shocked. After so long on my own it’s hard to believe that I have  _ allies _ , and we’re really working to… well, fix it… Working towards  _ freedom _ .”

“OH!” Steven jumps to his feet, still in Garnet’s lap. “Speaking of Freedom! Joy! Joy! What about White’s Pearl?”

“Oh. Uh,” Joy takes the bubble from her gem. “She’s right here. I wasn’t sure what to do with her. Could be dangerous and all?”

“But what if she’s not? What if that freed her from White Diamond?”

“Yeah, I  _ know _ , but…” 

But what if it  _ didn’t _ . 

“Ah…” Pearl looks around the room. They need to pop that bubble, because if she  _ is _ free, they can’t keep her in there, but if she’s not, they don’t want  _ White _ seeing this room. “Turn off the lights, then pop the bubble.” 

“Turn off the lights? But it will be pitch black if- … Oh. That was the point, wasn’t it?” Joy laughs nervously, and looks around. “Okaaaay…”

Bright sighs, and gets to her feet to go turn out the lights, and… it is in fact  _ pitch black _ . They’re in a cave, deep in the old kindergartens. There’s not a speck of natural light here. 

Then the room lights up from that pearl reforming, but the light quickly fades and leaves them in total darkness again.

“… Where am I?” A soft voice asks. A  _ pearl’s _ voice asks, and Pearl sighs in relief, and Shop turns the lights back on, getting stunned blinking from the new pearl sitting on a pillow in the middle of the room.

Steven rushes over to her before anyone else can say anything. “Hello! I’m Steven!”

“Uhhh, hello Steven?” She says, her one eyed gaze fixed on him, and she’s blinking quickly and leaning back slightly. 

“You’re at a secret base like, underground or something for the revolution! You’re free!”

“… Free?” She looks around, and gets to her feet. “Oh wow this room is mostly pearls…”

“Yes, uh,” Pearl steps forward. “Call me Rebel. We’re hoping to inspire pearls all over Homeworld to seek freedom for themselves. You don’t have to fight with us, but we couldn’t leave you under White Diamond’s control like that.”

“White Diamond’s control…?” She tilts her head to the side. “What are you talking about? I belong to Pink Diamond.  _ You _ belong to White Diamond… I think? You look different, but…”

“… A lot has changed. And, ah, I suppose you could say we switched places. White had you under her direct control for thousands of years.”

“Oh. Well, I don’t really want to fight Pink, but thank you…”

“Oh, no, you wouldn’t… can someone…” Pearl looks around the room helplessly, and Mole strides over, throwing an arm around Pearl’s shoulders.

“Don’t mind Rebel. She’s got a nastly silence order stopping her from mentioning Pink Diamond by that name. But you don’t have to worry your pretty little head about that.  _ Steven _ here is the new Pink Diamond, and he’s on our side.”

“ _ Rose _ was on our side too.” Pearl adds, shrugging Mole’s arm off and taking a step away. “But yes. That.”

“And  _ Rose _ is the name Rebel calls Pink. The uh, old Pink. Not the new Pink. That’s Steven. Oh, and I’m Mole. That’s Joy, Bright, and Shopkeep. You need to get yourself a nickname too, really. Gets confusing otherwise.”

“Oh, Pink called me all sorts of nicknames…” Her eye trails down to Steven, and she smiles slightly. “Though, I already have a new one.  _ Steven  _ called me  _ Free _ , after all. You can count me as part of this. I owe you all that much, if you really rescued me from White Diamond’s control.”


End file.
